Watch the Mission: Impossible films in release order: it matches the story’s timeline, because each film picks up where the previous one left off. Eight films came out between 1996 and 2025: Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025).
Below you’ll find U.S. release dates, directors, and runtimes, a spoiler-free summary of each part, how the films connect, and whether you need to watch the 1966 TV series. Details were checked against Paramount’s official pages and Wikipedia (Russian and English) as of October 15, 2026. Titles are given in English, and the original titles appear in the text of each section.
All Mission: Impossible movies in order
| Film | U.S. release | Director | Runtime, min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission: Impossible | May 22, 1996 | Brian De Palma | 111 |
| Mission: Impossible 2 | May 24, 2000 | John Woo | 126 |
| Mission: Impossible III | May 5, 2006 | J.J. Abrams | 126 |
| Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | December 16, 2011 | Brad Bird | 133 |
| Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | July 31, 2015 | Christopher McQuarrie | 131 |
| Mission: Impossible – Fallout | July 27, 2018 | Christopher McQuarrie | 148 |
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | July 12, 2023 | Christopher McQuarrie | 163 |
| Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | May 23, 2025 | Christopher McQuarrie | 169 |
Tom Cruise plays agent Ethan Hunt in all eight films, and he also produces the series. Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) returns from film to film, and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) appears starting with the third part. The first four films were directed by different filmmakers, while all four of the latest ones were directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
How the films connect
The film series doesn’t have a separate chronological order: among the eight films there are no prequels or spinoffs, and each film continues the previous one. The later films are the most tightly connected:
- Rogue Nation and Fallout. The sixth film takes place two years after the fifth. Its threat comes from the Apostles, a group made up of former members of the Syndicate from Rogue Nation.
- Fallout and Dead Reckoning. The seventh film takes place after the events of the sixth.
- Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning. These are two parts of one story: the seventh film came out with the subtitle “Part One” (later dropped), and the eighth was originally titled “Dead Reckoning Part Two.” The new title was announced in November 2024. The eighth film takes place shortly after the seventh.
What each part is about, without spoilers
Mission: Impossible (1996)
The original title is Mission: Impossible. Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is accused of killing his team, and he has to find the real traitor. Directed by Brian De Palma, with a screenplay by David Koepp and Robert Towne. The cast also includes John Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Henry Czerny, and Ving Rhames. Voight plays Jim Phelps, the hero of the TV series discussed below.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
The original title is Mission: Impossible II. Hunt teams up with a professional thief (Thandiwe Newton) to stop former IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), who wants to get hold of a deadly virus and profit from its antidote. Directed by John Woo. According to Russian Wikipedia, the film was the highest-grossing movie of 2000.
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
The original title is Mission: Impossible III. Hunt is engaged to Julia (Michelle Monaghan), who doesn’t know what he really does, and he assembles a team against arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Directed by J.J. Abrams. The cast also includes Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Maggie Q, and Keri Russell.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
The original title is Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. After an explosion in the Kremlin, the IMF is blamed for terrorism, and Hunt and a small team go underground to stop a plot aimed at triggering nuclear war. Directed by Brad Bird; the cast includes Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, and Vladimir Mashkov.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
The original title is Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The CIA shuts down the IMF, and Hunt and his team fight the Syndicate, a network of former agents who turned traitor. Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) appears in the film. For Christopher McQuarrie, this is the first film in the series that he both directed and wrote.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
The original title is Mission: Impossible – Fallout. A mission to recover plutonium falls apart when Hunt chooses to save his team instead of completing the task. Now he has to stop a nuclear threat, and he is assigned a CIA agent as a partner (Henry Cavill). According to Russian Wikipedia, this is the series’ highest-grossing film, taking in about $824 million.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
The original title is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (at the time of release, with the subtitle Part One). Hunt and his team search for a new weapon that must not fall into the wrong hands. According to Wikipedia’s description, it involves an artificial intelligence called the Entity. The film also features Hayley Atwell (Grace), Rebecca Ferguson, and Vanessa Kirby.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
The original title is Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Hunt and the IMF, together with new allies, keep searching for the Entity in order to destroy it. According to Russian Wikipedia, this is the eighth and final main film in the series. At 169 minutes (per Paramount), it’s the longest of the eight; next comes Dead Reckoning Part One, at 163 minutes.
Do you need to watch the 1966 series?
You don’t need it to understand the films. The Mission: Impossible TV series was created by Bruce Geller. It aired on CBS from September 17, 1966, to March 30, 1973: seven seasons and 171 episodes. In the first season, the IMF team is led by Dan Briggs; in the remaining six, by Jim Phelps. In the film series, the central hero is Ethan Hunt, and the series’ theme, composed by Lalo Schifrin, is heard in the films too.
The series was also revived on ABC in 1988: two seasons aired until 1990. In December 1969, a compilation film called Mission: Impossible vs. the Mafia came out, assembled from two episodes of the series; it isn’t counted among the eight films.
If you like watching movies in order, we have similar guides: all Fast & Furious movies, all the Spider-Man movies, and the viewing order for the Batman movies.
Sources and methodology
Analysis of public sourcesChecked 15 October 2026
- Paramount — Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (official page) paramount.com
- Paramount — Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (official page) paramount.com
- Wikipedia (Russian) — Mission: Impossible ru.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia — Mission: Impossible (film series) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia — Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series) en.wikipedia.org
Frequently asked questions
What order should I watch Mission: Impossible in?
In release order, which is also chronological: Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025).
How many Mission: Impossible movies have come out?
Eight, from 1996 to 2025. Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in all of them.
Do I need to watch the 1966 series before the movies?
No. The films follow Ethan Hunt, while in the series the IMF team is led by Dan Briggs and Jim Phelps. You can watch the series later if you want to learn where the franchise began.
Are Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning one story?
Yes, they are two parts of one story. The seventh film came out with the subtitle “Part One,” and the eighth was originally titled “Dead Reckoning Part Two”; the action continues shortly after the events of the seventh film.
When will Mission: Impossible 9 come out?
We haven’t found an official announcement for a ninth film. The eighth film came out on May 23, 2025, and according to Russian Wikipedia, it is the last main film in the series.
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