Tom Cruise Says You Don't Have to See the Other Mission: Impossible Films to Watch "Dead Reckoning"

Tom Cruise is back in action as special agent Ethan Hunt. Cruise is reprising his classic role in "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One," which follows Hunt and his team embarking on what may be their most treacherous and consequential mission ever. This time, the crew will have "to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands," the official synopsis reads, per Deadline. "With control of the future, and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan's past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission — not even the lives of those he cares about most."

The first "Mission: Impossible" movie came out in 1996 and starred Cruise as an inexperienced young agent. Five sequels followed over the next two decades, and now "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" and "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two" will mark the seventh and eighth installments of the franchise. Both are written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Luckily, you don't need to have a six-movie marathon before heading to the theater. Cruise told Collider during an interview published June 20, "They could start with this film to see and understand that this is all real, all the action is real, it's practical. This movie is an epic adventure. . . . It's so lush, filled with practical action and amazing locations."

Ahead, check out everything else we know about the movie.

"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" takes place directly after the events of 2018's "Mission: Impossible — Fallout." In it, Hunt and his team are trying to find a weapon that threatens the fate of the entire world, all while dangerous forces from his past come out of the woodwork to hunt him down.

Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt. Also reprising their roles are Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis, and Frederick Schmidt as Zola Mitsopolis.

Meanwhile, Hayley Atwell will play a new character called Grace, whom McQuarrie described as a "destructive force of nature," per Collider. Esai Morales will play the primary villain, while Pom Klementieff will play another villain. Other new cast members include Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and Mariela Garriga.

"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" will hit theaters on July 12.