r/Mission_Impossible

A few years back after I watched the original M:I TV show for the first time I felt the same way that fans of it did regarding the twist in the first film, that there's no way whatsoever that's the same Jim Phelps from the show. Most people assume either that the films are a separate canon than the show (which isn't true at all, the special features on the DVD of the first film have dossiers of the characters which confirm that it's supposed to be the same Jim and same continuity), or theorize that the Jim Phelps we saw in the film was actually an imposter who impersonated the real Jim Phelps, who was either caught or killed prior to the events of the first film (perhaps during that recruiting assignment at the Drake Hotel in Chicago?). Well everyone, what I just discovered may shock you.

The other day I was trying to come up with ideas for another movie to explain and rectify this situation after all these years, that in this theoretical sequel it's discovered that a rogue former IMF operative with a long-held grudge against Jim Phelps sought revenge by impersonating him in the 1996 film to infiltrate the IMF, kill his team, and make Jim look like a traitor. Through my research not only did I discover that that's an entirely plausible explanation, but it actually quite literally already happened in the franchise before! This exact thing actually happened in the episode "Reprisal" of the 80s revival show! A former scientist/consultant with the IMF named Russell Acker literally impersonated Jim with a mask, voice, fingerprints, and everything and started killing Jim's former team members to frame him for the murders, as revenge for Jim putting him in prison. I don't want to spoil the episode any further so I'd recommend you go and watch for yourself, because it's entirely possible and even very likely that this dude could've been the imposter in the film!

Now if you're wondering how on earth this guy can impersonate Jim so well that people couldn't tell it was an imposter, the episode explains that this guy was a brilliant scientist who was actually responsible for advancing the masks and other IMF tech and spent literally 12 years planning his revenge and practicing his impersonation. Also the episode takes place in 1989, just 7 years prior to the first film so timeline-wise he could've easily broken out of prison 7 years later to try to get revenge again. Also ever wondered why the Jim Phelps from the movie was a bit more agile than his age would suggest? Well that's because Acker was only 40 in 1989 and would've been just 47 in 1996, which again lends credence to the imposter theory.

Now I know some of you may not care about redeeming the Jim Phelps character all these years later, but for those of us fans of the original show and/or the 80s revival (which I would recommend you go watch both) this is the best explanation there is. This isn't just some random fan-theory anymore, it's pretty much an iron-clad explanation that shockingly already happened before in the franchise so it's supported by very strong canonical evidence, and I'm surprised that to my knowledge it doesn't seem like anyone else has realized this before. My jaw was on the floor when I found this out, it's almost too perfect to just be a coincidence.

#1 The original film is literally a perfect movie.
#2 The sequel is a 2-hour music video, but that's OK.
#3 The third movie set the tone for later sequels.
#4 Adding Benji in the 3rd film and bringing him back for sequels was one of the best things this franchise did.
#5 Luthor was missed in the 4th film, but at least he got a cameo.
#6 My mom LOVED these movies. Sadly, she died before the 5th came out.
#7 When Ethan did the window jump, bounced off, and the chain of people saved his life out the window... my mom hit the table so hard, she about dumped her coffee everywhere. LOL
#8 I forgot how 5-6 go, and I haven't seen 7-8. I'm planning on doing a movie saga watch from to start to finish. How do 5-6 compare to the front 4? Did 7-8 live up to the advertising and trailers?
#9 Is there any news of a 9th film?
#10 When Tom retires from M:I, they should keep him on for cameos. Make him the boss of IMF and he can bookend each film. Here's your mission. Welcome back. Something like that.

Do those of you who've seen and like the TV show, is it worth seeing? I grew up in the 90's and I was 12 when the first movie came out. I love older TV shows, prior to the 1980's, mostly just sitcoms.

I guess I observed more than I questioned. LOL

If true could this open the door for a MI9 not directed by McQ? Id love to see Joseph Kosinski direct it then do TG3 or vice versa. Give us one more Fallout/Rogue Nation level film and call it a day. The one thing id say that's going against this rumor is the fact Cruise and McQ still have a bunch of projects in development. I can't imagine McQ and Cruise would still be collaborating on so many projects if the fallout (hehe) from DR and TFR was that severe even if Cruise doesn't want McQ direct his next movie.

When Mission Impossible 2 came out years after the original in the year 2000, it felt like one of those "late" at the time disappointing sequels that would have been one and done and killed off the franchise. If you look at rotten tomatoes, Mission Impossible 2 has the lowest scores of the franchise.

Back then it didn't seem like Tom Cruise would even continue Mission Impossible after that, and John Woo seemed to have an obsession with slow-motion motorcycle crashes and Tom constantly flashing his long hair around and smiling. If it weren't for Ving Rhames in the movie it would feel entirely divorced from the rest of the franchise. Like one of those "late sequel movies" nobody ever talks about. Man I can't get over Tom Cruise's hair in this movie.

The tonal whiplash is crazy too. Mission Impossible always had some humor and cheese in every movie, but MI:2 takes it to absurd levels. It feels more like an action superhero movie rather than an espionage/spy movie. It's just weird to look back on it now before Mission Impossible 3 happened and then it was obvious the franchise took off from there.

Title: Mission: Impossible (Just that. No subtitle.)

Plot: A IMF agent is tasked to steal terrorist info in a city they're in. What the agent doesn't know is that the city is already a warzone and he's behind enemy territory. With only a few resources up his sleeve and help from a small resistance group, he has 2 days to complete the objective, or it's GAME OVER.

So the point is that the IMF agents are always using 100 percent of their braincells to handle what the governmemt can't do. What if those agents (1 person or team) were doing the IMPOSSIBLE task in a place where it's IMPOSSIBLE for them to survive?

Basically Mission: Impossible with intense survival

There will still be tropes associated with the M:I franchise like...

- The briefings ("Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It...")

- The Disguises

- IMF strategies (critical thinking and wits)

- The "Ethan Hunt" styled risk taking

And most importantly: The iconic theme song by Lalo Schifrin.

Director(s): Sam Hargrave (Extraction), Simon McQuoid (Mortal Kombat 1,2), J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, Kraven The Hunter), Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, The Girl In The Spider's Web, Alien: Romulus), Jake Kasdan (Jumanji, Red One) or Dan Tratchenberg (Predator Film Series).

Music Composer: Henry Jackman, Benjamin Wallfisch or Junkie XL

Cinematographer: Jeff Cronenweth, Fabian Wagner or Amir Mokri

I realize both Reckoning films are already a little too long as they are, but I actually wouldn't mind some sort of extended edition or director's cut of one of the films that includes the strangely omitted story of how Ethan joined the IMF and his history with Gabriel and the story of Marie's murder. Preferably Dead Reckoning since it's a little shorter than Final Reckoning and it probably makes more sense in that movie than it would in the latter. TFR already has enough bloat and exposition lol

Not actually showing us Gabriel's backstory makes his character feel underwritten and including it would at least give us the chance to actually know who the hell he is and help us care about him as a character more. Also knowing who the hell Marie was and why Gabriel killed her and framed Ethan for it would be nice to know too. Perhaps it would make the films even longer than they need to be, but I think having that context would really help out the story a lot.