Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read through the following post. The information contained within details the running order of the Mission: Impossible film series and is for your eyes only (as well as the eyes of those who come seeking this knowledge).
Do you accept this mission? I’ll take your silence as a ‘yes’.
OK, so today I’m taking a look at the Mission: Impossible film series – a collection of high-octane, big budget blockbusters. The movies are a (sort-of) spin-off/continuation of two Mission: Impossible TV shows, the first of which aired in 1966.
The original M:I series – known as Mission: Impossible – ran for seven seasons from 1966 until 1973. It was a very popular show, with an iconic theme tune, and is still remembered fondly by fans today.
The second show – also titled Mission: Impossible – lasted for two seasons. This series ran between 1988 and 1990.
The premise of each show revolved around a team of top-notch specialists, known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), who each week are tasked with overcoming a secret mission. These missions are viewed as being nigh on impossible to accomplish, with the success rate being low or non-existent.
Of course, every week the team would find a way to make the impossible possible, and this thrilled TV audiences no-end. Even if viewers knew the IMF would always succeed, the fun came from watching them achieve their goals.
When the second show ended in 1990, this appeared to be the end of Mission: Impossible. However, good things can’t be kept down for too long, and soon Hollywood had plans for a revival, to take Mission: Impossible off the small screen and onto the big screen for a big budget, action-packed adventure.
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The Mission: Impossible movie series
In 1996, the Mission: Impossible format was given a re-jig and an overhaul to make it work for the big screen. The plan was to turn the premise of the television show into an action vehicle for actor Tom Cruise, who would play a central role in a new movie.
A couple of aspects of the show were to be retained (the basic premise, iconic theme music, etc), but everything else was to go. The slate was being wiped clean, so the focus of Mission: Impossible could be on Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, who was to lead a big screen adventure alongside a cast of new characters.
And this is exactly what happened. Ethan became the focus of the film, as well as all of the sequels that followed.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
The initial entry in the film series – simply titled Mission: Impossible – introduced Ethan Hunt as part of an ensemble cast. However, early into the story, the ensemble falls away, leaving Ethan flying solo and accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
To prove his innocence, Ethan must bring together a new, unofficial IMF team, and find the real perpetrator. But to do this, he must break into CIA headquarters in Langley, and retrieve an important item from a sealed and seemingly impenetrable room. (110 mins)
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Due to the box office success of Mission: Impossible, Paramount Pictures soon gave the go-ahead for a sequel, appropriately titled Mission: Impossible II (aka M:I-2). Tom Cruise reprised the role of Ethan Hunt, who this time around has to locate and destroy a genetically modified disease known as Chimera, which is in the possession of a former IMF agent gone rogue, Sean Ambrose.
In order to complete his mission, Ethan has to recruit a new team (this time an official IMF team), to help him obtain Chimera. But with Ambrose keen to see Ethan fail, things soon get complicated. (123 mins)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Picking up a few years after the events of Mission: Impossible II, Ethan Hunt has now retired from the Impossible Missions Force and has settled down to live a normal life. He is engaged to his fiancée, Julie Meade, who is completely unaware of his former job, and as far as Ethan is concerned, he has no desire to look back.
However, when Ethan is approached by IMF Director of Operations, John Musgrave, about a special mission to rescue an agent, Ethan soon finds himself pulled back in and on the search for a mysterious biological hazard known as the ‘Rabbit’s Foot’. Despite his best efforts to create a new life for himself, Ethan can’t escape the IMF and this soon impacts his future with Julie. (126 mins)
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
With the previous three Mission: Impossible movies proving successful at the box-office, the series continued with the fourth instalment: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The numbering system used for the titles was abandoned from here on out, but the action, stunts, and excitement level remained a core focus of the series.
In this instalment, the Impossible Missions Force is shut down after it is publicly implicated in a bombing of the Kremlin. As a result, Ethan Hunt and his team of operatives find themselves working without resources, as they strive to clear their names. (132 mins)
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Upon release in 2011, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was a huge hit and at that point in time, it was the most financially successful entry in the Mission: Impossible series. As such, Paramount Pictures was very keen to press ahead with another entry, which arrived in 2015 under the title, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
In this film, Ethan Hunt finds himself and his team up against an international black ops terrorist group known as The Syndicate. The group is composed of various rogue agents from around the world, putting Ethan and Co. in grave danger (again). (131 mins)
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
With the Mission: Impossible film series showing no signs of fatigue, a sixth instalment made its debut in 2018, under the title Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In this film, Ethan and his IMF team attempt to prevent nuclear weapon technology from falling into the hands of the Apostles – a bio-terrorist group who are an offshoot of The Syndicate.
Tom Cruise leads the movie once again and the film proved to be both a critical and commercial success. Mission: Impossible – Fallout overtook the box-office returns of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, to become the highest-grossing entry so far. (147 mins)
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
With such a positive response to Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Paramount once again pushed ahead with the film series, but this time the studio gave the green light for two films rather than one. The two-parter was titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.
The first instalment made its debut in 2023 (following a few production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic), and saw Ethan Hunt and his team on the search for a powerful rogue A.I. known as ‘The Entity’. In the movie, Ethan is tasked with finding The Entity before it falls into enemy hands. (163 mins)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Picking up after the cliff-hanger ending of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, this second entry sees Ethan Hunt continue his search for The Entity, while battling outside forces.
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Are all of the Mission: Impossible movies part of the same series?
All of the Mission: Impossible movies are part of the same series, with Tom Cruise playing the role of Ethan Hunt in each instalment. The early entries are a little more detached than some of the later films, and focus more on a revolving cast of characters, however, as the series progresses a number of key players return including Luther Stickell, Benji Dunn, Ilsa Faust, William Brandt, and Julia Meade.
Outside of these characters, the movie series is perhaps best known for its palm-sweating stunts including a rock climbing sequence in Mission: Impossible 2 and an aerial battle in Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018). For Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Ethan Hunt even scaled the side of the Burj Khalifa tower – the world’s tallest building.
The viewing order of the Mission: Impossible movies
For those new to the Mission: Impossible film series, the viewing order is quite straight forward. The films are told in a linear format, so all of the entries follow on from each other in production order.
The Mission: Impossible movie order is as follows:
- Mission: Impossible (1996)
- Mission: Impossible II (2000)
- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Work your way through the films in this order and you’ll witness the trials and tribulations that Ethan Hunt experiences as he accepts each seemingly impossible mission. You’ll also get to watch a series of stunts more elaborate then the ones that came before, and view some genuinely scene stealing moments.
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Who are the cast of the Mission: Impossible movies and are all of the movies the work of the same director?
As noted above, Tom Cruise is the lead actor across the entire Mission: Impossible movie series. Cruise is known for movies including Top Gun, The Last Samurai, Cocktail, and Collateral, but his turn as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible movie series has become his signature role.
Joining Cruise on screen is an exhaustive list of actors including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, Henry Czerny, Jon Voight, Jean Reno, Vanessa Redgrave, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Béart, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Richard Roxburgh, Anthony Hopkins, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maggie Q, Billy Crudup, Keri Russell, Laurence Fishburne, Paula Patton, Sean Harris, Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, and Hayley Atwell.
In terms of the directors, the series is the work of multiple directors.
- Brian De Palma directed Mission: Impossible
- John Woo directed Mission: Impossible II
- J. J. Abrams directed Mission: Impossible III
- Brad Bird directed Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
- Christopher McQuarrie directed Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
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What is the best Mission: Impossible movie?
The Mission: Impossible movie series has been well-received by critics and audiences alike, and this is reflected in the longevity of the series. According to IMDb the films are rated as follows:
- Mission: Impossible (1996) – 7.2/10
- Mission: Impossible II (2000) – 6.1/10
- Mission: Impossible III (2006) – 6.9/10
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) – 7.4/10
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) – 7.4/10
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – 7.7/10
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023) – 7.9/10
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) – Not yet rated
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Whether you’re new to the Mission: Impossible movies, or you simply want to play catch-up, you may like to know that all of the movies are currently available on home video.
And if 4K is your thing, then you might be interested in what Paramount has to offer – a 4K boxset which collects together the first six films.
The Mission: Impossible six-movie collection 4K box set is widely available to buy from all good entertainment retailers including Amazon UK and Amazon US.
Disclaimer: I earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Mission: Impossible movie series. For more movie posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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