Even thoughMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis meant to be a celebration of the entire franchise, several characters from past movies in the series do not appear in the film. It has not been confirmed whether the recently released action blockbuster will be the last movie in the franchise. While Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie have both expressed interest in making another entry, theending ofMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis very satisfying. Therefore, there’s a chance that the long-running spy franchise is now completed.
This wouldn’t be surprising, but it would be somewhat disappointing since several characters from previousMission: Impossiblemoviesdo not appear inThe Final Reckoning. Since the franchise has spanned almost three decades, it’s understandable that the core cast has been shuffled a few times. In fact, other thanCruise’s Ethan Hunt, Luther is the only character that has appeared in every movie. However, it’s still disappointing that some fan-favorite characters have not yet returned to the franchise. Therefore,here are six of Ethan Hunt’s allies who are still seemingly alive but did not return forThe Final Reckoning:
6Nyah Nordoff-Hall
Appeared In: Mission: Impossible 2
It’s somewhat surprising that Nyah hasn’t returned to the franchise sinceshe is a major character and Ethan Hunt’s love interest inMission: Impossible 2. In the second film in the series, Nyah is played by Thandie Newton, a popular actress who is perhaps best known for playing Maeve in the HBO seriesWestworld. Before striking up a romantic connection with Ethan Hunt, Nyah dated Sean Ambrose, the main villain inMission: Impossible 2. Because of her connection to Ambrose, Ethan recruits Nyah to join the IMF and help take him down.
Ethan and Nyah appear to be a happy couple at the end ofMission: Impossible 2, but clearly things did not work out between them since she never returns to the franchise.
In the film, Sean Ambrose wants to spread the deadly Chimera virus and sell the antidote for profit.Nyah actually gets infected with the Chimera virus inMission: Impossible 2, but is thankfully saved by Ethan. Nyah was last seen with Ethan in Australia at the end of the second film. Ethan and Nyah appear to be a happy couple at the end ofMission: Impossible 2, but clearly things did not work out between them since she never returns to the franchise. In fact, Ethan has a new love interest at the beginning ofMission: Impossible III.
5Billy Baird
Billy is a member of the IMF who works with Ethan, Luther, and Nyah inMission: Impossible 2. In the film, Billy is played by John Polson, who is an Australian actor and director. Throughout the movie,Billy works very closely with Ethan Hunt and is instrumental in his mission to stop Sean Ambrose from infecting large populations of people with the Chimera virus. Billy is very loyal to Ethan and the IMF inMission: Impossible 2, which is sometimes rare in the franchise. Therefore, it’s surprising that Billy hasn’t appeared in any otherMission: Impossiblemovies.
Billy was last seen saving Nyah in Australia with Ethan and Luther. Since Luther has appeared in everyMission: Impossiblemovie since, it’s kind of disappointing that Billy has never shown up again. More than likely,the creative team behindMission: Impossible IIIand future movies decided not to bring him back sinceMission: Impossible 2is the lowest-rated film in the series. This is also probably why Nyah, another major character in the second film, has never returned.
4Zhen Lei
Appeared In: Mission: Impossible III
Zhen Lei is an IMF agent and was an ally to Ethan HuntinMission: Impossible III. Compared to the first two movies in the series,Mission: Impossible IIIshowed a more personal side to Ethan and explored his relationships with his fellow IMF agents on a deeper level. Because of this, Zhen is an important character inMission: Impossible III. She helps Ethan capture Owen Davian in Vatican City and travels with him to Shaghai, China to findthe Rabbit’s Foot.
Reportedly, McQuarrie approached Maggie Q about returning to the franchise when he signed on to directMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, but scheduling conflicts prevented this from happening.
SinceThe Final ReckoningmakesMission: Impossible IIIone of the most important movies in the series, it’s disappointing that Zhen didn’t appear in the film. Even though she gets injured near the end of the movie,Zhen is a very capable character who helps Ethan while he is on a mission to save his wife inMission: Impossible III. She was last seen at the IMF headquarters saying goodbye to Ethan and Julie as they leave for their honeymoon. In the film, Zhen is played by Maggie Q, who has also appeared in shows likeNikitaandDesignated Survivor.
3Declan Gormley
Just like Zhen,Declan is an IMF agent and an important member of Ethan’s team inMission: Impossible III. As is expected from an IMF agent, Declan is a very skilled fighter and a capable spy who helps Ethan a lot during the third film in the franchise. InMission: Impossible III, Declan is played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who has also appeared in films likeBend It Like Beckham,Match Point, and the showThe Tudors.
Even thoughMission: Impossible IIIis the lowest-grossing film in the entire franchise, critics liked it significantly better than the second film. Therefore, it wouldn’t have necessarily been surprising if Ethan’s allies from the film appeared in futureMission: Impossiblemovies. After all, after debuting inMission: Impossible III, Simon Pegg’s Benji became a main character in the series. However,just like Zhen, Declan hasn’t appeared in the franchise since and was last seen at the IMF headquarters at the end ofMission: Impossible III.
2Jane Carter
Appeared In: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Jane Carter is an IMF agent who works alongside Ethan Hunt inMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.Ghost Protocolwas definitely the start of a new era for the franchise, as it was much more ambitious than the previous three films. In particular,Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol’sBurj Khalifa sequence is arguably the best in the entire series. Because of how successfulGhost Protocolwas, it’s extra surprising that Jane has never returned to the franchise. InGhost Protocol, Jane is played by Paula Patton, who has also starred in movies like2 GunsandWarcraft.
Jane was last seen with Ethan and the rest of the team in Seattle at the end ofMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which suggests that she may become a permanent member of the team.
Patton is exceptional in the role, and Jane is one of the best characters in the entire franchise. Not only is Jane a skilled IMF agent, butshe is also on a personal revenge mission inGhost Protocolsince Sabine Moreau, one of the movie’s villains, killed her lover. Jane was last seen with Ethan and the rest of the team in Seattle at the end ofMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which suggests that she may become a permanent member of the team. However, Patton has unfortunately never reprised her role.
1William Brandt
Appeared In: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol & Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
William Brandt is the only character on this list who has appeared in more than oneMission: Impossiblemovie. Brandt, who is played by Jeremy Renner, appeared in bothGhost ProtocolandRogue Nation. When Renner was cast in the role, it was believed that he might actually become the lead of the franchise. However, after the success ofGhost Protocoland Cruise’s renewed popularity, this obviously never ended up happening. Despite this,Brandt is still one of the best characters in bothGhost ProtocolandRogue Nation.
InGhost Protocol, Brandt and Ethan often butt heads and the former bares the weight of knowing he’s the reason the latter’s wife, Julia, is dead, since he led the IMF team that was assigned to protect her. Because of this, he is reluctant to work with Ethan on field missions. However,once Ethan reveals that he faked Julia’s death to protect her, Brandt finds peace and the two can work together effectively as team members. Brandt was last seen at the Senate committee meeting at the end ofRogue Nation, which sees the IMF get restored.
After appearing in two movies, many fans assumed Renner would also reprise his fan-favorite role inMission: Impossible - Fallout. Apparently, Brandt was originally meant to have a minor role and would have beenkilled off inMission: Impossible - Fallout. However, Renner reportedly refused to appear in the movie if Brandt wasn’t going to be one of the core characters. Therefore, Brandt hasn’t been seen since the ending ofRogue Nationand also doesn’t appear inMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, which could be the last movie in the series.
