With decades of Mission Impossible movies gracing the silver screen, it’s no surprise that some past homages and easter eggs might feature in future movies for the franchise. There are a few easter eggs in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One that hardcore fans of the thrilling and intense spy franchise might recognize, or some pieces of trivia to further extend the brilliant watch that audiences might find with the new Mission Impossible movie.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One isn’t exactly a film in the franchise that relies on easter eggs to get by, like superhero cameos galore, but a few keen surprises await within Mission Impossible 7 to make for some great easter eggs.
This article contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
6 CIA Cameos
When audiences first see the board of intelligence in the CIA that is once again discussing the rogue behaviors of Ethan Hunt, they might recognize a few faces in the building. As these characters talk amongst each other, some fans might point at the characters and see a familiar face or two, and question as to why these actors are here, and why so brief.
These actors are Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, Charles Parnell, and Rob Delaney. Although their appearances are short in the film, it begs the question as to why these actors were here, and if perhaps they have more of a role to play when it comes to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.
5 Kittridge’s Return
Amongst some appearances in the new Mission Impossible movie, some fans of the franchise from years ago may recognize Henry Czerny’s character, Kittridge. This character appeared in the first Mission Impossible movie as a protagonist, who was also against Ethan Hunt on a similar mission as they both sought out a mole within the Impossible Mission Force.
Years later, Kittiridge returns as the CIA director, with continuing ties to the IMF, as he is the one that recruits Ethan Hunt on this deadly and important mission to capture The Entity. It’s fun to see Ethan Hunt interact with a familiar face from his early days in the IMF.
4 The White Widow And Zola
For years, the Mission Impossible movies were connected as sequels, but nothing quite like what they have become lately. With the newest set of Mission Impossible movies, they are more connected than ever before, with some returning faces debuting on the screen that could delight or shock fans of the franchise. Two such characters are the White Widow and Zola, the infamous global broker of illegal activity, and her bodyguard brother.
The two played a minor antagonistic role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the previous film in the franchise before Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. These two characters return yet again as a thorn in Ethan Hunt’s side, as they seek power and safety for themselves above the world against The Entity.
3 John Lark Alias
When Ethan Hunt is set to meet with the White Widow, he has to resume the alias that she knows: John Lark. The White Widow doesn’t know Ethan’s real name, or what he stands for, therefore it’s a good thing that he has the fake alias of a known nuclear terrorist extremist, John Lark. This alias was first used in Mission: Impossible – Fallout as the name for its antagonist.
In Mission: Impossible – Fallout, John Lark is revealed to be Henry Cavill’s true identity, who had been hiding in the film as a CIA agent, August Walker. It seems that with his death, Ethan Hunt can continue using his criminal alias, considering the secret nature of Lark’s identity in the shadows of the criminal underworld.
2 Printing Latex Masks
A staple of the Mission: Impossible series is one of its many important gadgets, the latex mask. From the mask creation machine, the IMF can create impenetrable disguises that make the wearer look like a spitting image of their target. These printing machines have featured in practically every Mission: Impossible movie over the years in some way or another, and always feature for a big twist and reveal of who is who.
When fans get their first look at the printing masks in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, it seems that IMF’s predictability has caught up with them, and The Entity destroys the machine by sabotaging it. However, one mask was still created with the machine, so audiences do get to see it in use, even if it doesn’t change the eye color of its character.
1 Ilsa Faust's Eyepatch
At the beginning of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, audiences might be wondering why Ilsa Faust is wearing an eyepatch, and whatever cool reason she might have gotten it through her adventures. However, actor Rebecca Ferguson revealed the real reason why Ilsa Faust wears an eyepatch thanks to an interview with HeyUGuys.
In this panel interview, Ferguson reveals that she wears an eyepatch for practical reasons, rather than a cool backstory for the character. Fans asking why Ilsa Faust has an eyepatch in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will now know that the reason is simply that the actor cannot wink, thus they needed an eyepatch to cover her open eye whilst she used a sniper rifle.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters now.