Five times a movie franchise said it was ending and lied

Posted On May 30, 2025May 30, 2025

In 2025, after almost three decades of thrilling audiences and feeding Tom Cruise’s ego, the Mission: Impossible series has finally come to an end. At least, we think it’s ended. The most recent movie, The Final Reckoning, sounds pretty definitive. It’s got the word ‘Final’ in there, after all. Surely, Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and everyone else involved with the franchise wouldn’t lie to us, the loyal viewers, who have kept it going for so many years? Yeah, about that…

Moviegoers should always be worried when they’re told something is the ‘last entry’ in a series. History is littered with examples of franchises feeling like they’re winding down, only for them to roar back to life and drag on for another few years, or even decades. Some of these false endings are merely implied, while others are explicitly stated, and then ignored.

Basically, if a studio or director thinks they can make more money by making more movies, then they’ll do it. It doesn’t matter if they set up the perfect finale already, killed off a key character, or even if one of the lead actors is retired or dead. In Hollywood, cash is king, and that’s all that matters.

We look forward to seeing Mission: Impossible 12—No Really, This Is It Now Guys, Honest in theatres in 2045. For now, let’s look at five times movie franchises lied to us about biting the bullet and milked our emotions.

Five times movie franchises lied about ending

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