Speaking to the good folks at Empire ’s Spoiler Special Podcast, The Final Reckoning helmer spilled state secrets on several aspects of this summer blockbuster. When it came to the potential death of Ethan Hunt, McQuarrie shared that his head was literally in the clouds when pondering it:

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie has revealed why the movie didn't kill off Ethan Hunt. The recent entry in the blockbuster franchise is touted as the last chapter of the series, and as such many fans had speculated that the film would do the impossible and have Tom Cruise 's character die.

Impossible film was retitled The Final Reckoning , fans started theorizing that maybe Ethan Hunt was going to die. After all, what better way to close out a decades-long franchise than to sacrifice its legendary lead?