How to Watch All the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies in Order

Mission: Impossible is back for more epic fights and death-defying stunts.

The hit film franchise was originally based on an espionage series that premiered in 1966. The show ran for seven seasons on CBS, eventually being rebooted for another two seasons in 1988. But these days, most people know Mission: Impossible for the iconic movies it inspired.

Starring Tom Cruise, the movies are loaded with action, deceit and globe-spanning adventures – everything a good spy film should be. It’s also a long-running movie series: Mission: Impossible has featured seven films spanning almost 30 years, with the most recent film, The Final Reckoning, debuting in theaters on May 23, 2025.

Chronologically, the Mission: Impossible franchise goes in order, making it easy for newcomers to watch the movies. However, after the third film, the movies stop using numerical titles, which could make it a little confusing for anyone looking to watch them in order.

Here’s everything to know about how to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in order — plus, how to stream them.

Mission: Impossible Movies in Release Date Order

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Mission: Impossible 8 (2025)

Mission: Impossible Movies in Chronological Order

Mission: Impossible

The first Mission: Impossible movie starts off with Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team of Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agents suffering a fatal error in their mission, which blows their cover. Soon, his entire team is killed off one by one, leaving Hunt as the only survivor.

Even worse, he learns the mission failed because someone in the IMF is a mole — and now that his team has been killed, everyone suspects that the double agent is Hunt himself. In the film, he must flee for his safety and discover who the real traitor is.

Mission: Impossible also starred Ving Rhames, Jon Voight and Jean Reno.

Watch Mission: Impossible on Paramount+ and Netflix

Mission: Impossible II

Four years after its 1996 premiere, Mission Impossible got its first sequel. This time around, the IMF is alerted by a scientist in Australia who says the pharmaceutical company he works for has forced him to create a deadly virus so it can profit off of a cure.

But after an IMF agent goes rogue and steals the cure, Hunt realizes that the scandal is much larger and more dangerous than he knew.

In this sequel, Rhames reprised his role and the two were joined by Thandiwe Newton and Dougray Scott.

Watch Mission: Impossible II on Paramount+ and Netflix

Mission: Impossible III

In Mission: Impossible III, Hunt is tasked with saving a hostage who’s been captured by a maniacal arms dealer. But the new villain is smarter than the IMF assumed, and the mission has disastrous results.

As Hunt and his team dig deeper, they learn this arms dealer is actually trying to acquire a deadly bioweapon called the “Rabbit’s Foot.”

Joining the cast this time around were Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Keri Russell, Simon Pegg, Laurence Fishburne and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Watch Mission: Impossible III on Paramount+ and Netflix

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

In Ghost Protocol, the IMF gets caught in the middle of a Kremlin bombing that is unfairly blamed on the agency. In reality, Hunt and his colleagues discover the Kremlin was actually bombed by an intelligence analyst hoping to instigate a war between the U.S. and Russia. Now, the IMF must save its reputation and prevent a full-blown war from breaking out.

Along with Cruise, both Rhames and Pegg reprised their roles in the film, with Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton joining the cast.

Watch Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol on Paramount+ and Netflix

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Almost 20 years after the first film premiered, Mission Impossible returned once again with Rogue Nation. In the film, Hunt and his team face their biggest enemy yet – The Syndicate. The group is a terrorist organization made up of operatives, spies and intelligence officials from agencies around the world who want to create a new world order.

Rogue Nation is heavily connected to its sequel, 2018’s Fallout. New cast members in the film include Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris.

Watch Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation on Paramount+ and Netflix

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Fallout picks up after Rogue Nation, as the remnants of The Syndicate have reformed as a terrorist-for-hire organization called The Apostles. The group is now trying to acquire plutonium cores to arm three nuclear bombs that the mysterious “John Lark” intends to detonate around the globe.

Much of the previous cast returned for the film, with Vanessa Kirby and Angela Bassett joining.

Watch Mission: Impossible — Fallout on Paramount+

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One 

In Dead Reckoning Part One, the Mission Impossible franchise tackled a thoroughly modern challenge — artificial intelligence. The film centers around a high-tech military AI interface — called The Entity — that becomes sentient. The IMF fears The Entity could start operating weapons and financial systems around the world, essentially controlling life on Earth.

Rhames, Pegg, Ferguson and Kirby return, with Hayley Atwell joining.

Watch Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One on Paramount+

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning brings together stories from across the Impossible franchise. In this film, a former Entity agent seeks control of the Rabbit’s Foot, first shown in Mission: Impossible III. The Entity wants to start a nuclear apocalypse, so Hunt and his agents must stop it, once and for all.

Rhames, Pegg, Atwell and Bassett reprise their roles.

Watch Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in theaters nationwide