‘Mission: Impossible 8’ Brings Back Rolf Saxon From Famous Vault Scene in the First Movie
After 25 years, “Mission: Impossible” fans may finally find out whatever happened to William Donloe, the CIA analyst from the original movie who was supposed to be watching highly classified documents before Ethan Hunt drops from the ceiling and steals them in the now famous scene.
On his Instagram account Wednesday, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” writer Christopher McQuarrie revealed that actor Rolf Saxon, who played William Donloe in the first “Mission: Impossible,” is returning in next year’s franchise finale, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.”
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McQuarrie shared a photo of Saxon’s character, who is now sporting a beard after the events of the original “Mission: Impossible.” After Tom Cruise’s super spy Ethan Hunt suspended himself from a cable and dropped down from ceiling of the high-security CIA vault to steal the NOC list, Donloe was promptly fired and reassigned to a polar substation in Alaska.
Earlier on Wednesday, McQuarrie also announced that Inuit actor Lucy Tulugarjuk would be joining the cast. She’s dressed in a warm, heavy parka on what appears to be a snowy base — could the final “Mission: Impossible” return to its roots and connect back to the first film?
“Ted Lasso” star and Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham will also be joining the “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two” cast, as McQuarrie similarly announced on his Instagram earlier this month. The movie is set to release in theaters on June 28, 2024, less than a year after “Part One” releases this summer on July 14, 2023.
Saxon isn’t the only familiar face rejoining the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. The seventh and penultimate movie is bringing back Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, the former director of the IMF, who’s mysteriously back from the original “Mission: Impossible.” Vanessa Kirby will also play Alanna Mitsopolis, a black-market arms dealer who’s the daughter of Max Mitsopolis, played by Vanessa Redgraves in the first “Mission: Impossible.”
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