Hayley Atwell is no stranger to the world of spies, having played Agent Peggy Carter in numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and TV shows, starting with 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Now she’s set to appear in a different world full of deception, espionage and intrigue: the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that Hayley Atwell will appear in Mission: Impossible 7 today with the following Instagram post:
Hayley Atwell confirmed her involvement in Mission: Impossible 7 on her own Instagram account with a series of pictures that come together to form a giant version of the one Christopher McQuarrie posted. They all had the same caption:
Mission: Accepted. Though I’m not the sort to follow orders…
Given that Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 are filming back-to-back, it’s unclear if Hayley Atwell will also appear in the latter movie. It also remains to be seen who she’ll be playing, although her response to Christopher McQuarrie has me wondering if her character will be an adversary to Ethan Hunt rather than an ally.
Of course, Hayley Atwell won’t be the first major MCU veteran to have a prominent role in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Jeremy Renner, the MCU’s Hawkeye, played William Brandt in Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation. Renner was absent from Fallout due to scheduling conflicts with Avengers: Endgame, and while there was discussion of having Brandt briefly appear, only to be killed off in the beginning of the movie, Renner wasn’t game for that. So Brandt is still alive, and perhaps he’ll appear alongside Attwell’s character in Mission: Impossible 7.
Hayley Atwell is the third actor confirmed to appear in Mission: Impossible 7, following Tom Cruise, who’s obviously reprising Ethan Hunt, and Rebecca Ferguson, who’s reprising Ilsa Faust. Outside of the MCU, Atwell’s notable credits include Cinderella, Christopher Robin, Conviction, the Howard’s End miniseries and Blinded by the Light. She’s also set to vocally reprise Peggy Carter in the animated Disney+ series What If… ?
It was announced in January, six months after Mission: Impossible – Fallout came out that Christopher McQuarrie would return to write and direct two more Mission: Impossible movies, having been part of the franchise since he made uncredited rewrites on Ghost Protocol. No plot details for either 7 or 8 have been revealed yet, though at one point it was rumored that Alec Baldwin and Henry Cavill could reprise Alan Hunley and August Walker, respectively, presumably through flashbacks given that they both died in Fallout.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout became the highest grossing movie in the franchise yet, taking in over $791 million worldwide. It’s also arguably the most critically well-received too, ranking at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and earning an 86 score on Metacritic. The prospect of making two more movies had Christoper McQuarrie freaking out earlier this year, but considering his track record, fans can probably rest easy knowing he’ll continue delivering quality entertainment.
Mission: Impossible 7 will be released in theaters on July 23, 2021, and Mission: Impossible 8 will follow on August 5, 2022.
