WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
The date May 22, 1996, in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning plays a more integral role in the legacy of Tom Cruise’s celebrated action franchise than meets the eye. With the eighth and potentially final installment of Mission: Impossible hitting theaters nationwide on May 23, 2025, Ethan Hunt takes a final stand against his old nemesis, Gabriel, and the Entity, an advanced god-like AI determined to rebuild a new world on the ashes of a destroyed planet. By the end of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Ethan walks away after saving the world from Gabriel and the Entity.
Ethan would not have been able to complete his biggest mission ever without the help and trust of a variety of supporting characters, including Angela Bassett’s Sloane, the President of the United States, and Hannah Waddingham’s Admiral Neely, the captain of the United States aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush. President Sloane initially gave Ethan 72 hours to complete his mission, sneaking him into a helicopter so that he could go after the Entity. It’s not until Ethan gets aboard the USS George H.W. Bush that he meets Admiral Neely, handing her the letter that President Sloane had given him.
May 22, 1996 Is A Date That Connects Sloane & Neely In The Final Reckoning
It Marks A Tragedy Caused By A Leader In Power Who Refused To Act
In the context of the story of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the date May 22, 1996, refers to a day on which both Neely and Sloane, who were lower-ranking members of the United States military and government at the time, called for a superior to show courage and take a risk for the greater good. That unnamed superior did not answer the call and instead chose not to act, resulting in a grave tragedy. Sloane knew that Neely would understand the implication behind the letter that only had the date listed, knowing that she could now use her authority to take a risk for the greater good.
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President Sloane sending that letter with Ethan to give to Admiral Neely was a crucial part of Ethan being allowed to even have a chance at retrieving the Entity’s source code aboard the Sevastopol submarine. Ethan has never met Neely before, as Waddingham’s character made her Mission: Impossible debut in the eighth film, which meant that without Sloane’s note, Neely never would have approved Ethan’s request to be dropped near the American submarine, the USS Ohio. The theme of Ethan’s objective was convincing others in power to trust him and open doors that would have made his mission truly impossible otherwise.
May 22, 1996 Has A Greater Importance To Mission: Impossible
It’s The Release Date Of The First Mission: Impossible Movie
The date on the President’s letter was surprisingly also a franchise callback in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Besides being a signal between Sloane and Neely, May 22, 1996, was also the day the first Mission: Impossible movie was released in theaters. This Easter egg would have only been noticed by the most meticulous of viewers and pays tribute to the nearly 30-year legacy of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Although the specifics of the tragedy in the plot of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning aren’t touched on in much detail, the date cleverly holds both real-world and story value.
The Final Reckoning’s May 22, 1996 Reference Is Totally Different Than Expected
The Date Surprisingly Has No Personal Meaning To Ethan In-Universe
The inclusion of the date May 22, 1996, in the story of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was not a surprise, as it was seen in the blockbuster’s official trailer. That said, early speculation made it seem as though that date would hold significant value to Ethan, specifically, as the face of the Mission: Impossible franchise.
It was widely assumed that the date in Mission: Impossible 8 would have a connection to Ethan’s origin and past, but this was not the case. Surprisingly, May 22, 1996, has nothing to do with Ethan in the universe of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, even though it is the day the franchise began in reality.
