The filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie discusses major character deaths, the end (or is it?) of an action-movie franchise and what comes next.

Impossible – Dead Reckoning, has seized control of nuclear weapons from all world powers, except the United States, and is prepared to blow up the world and start Earth over with a blank slate run by the few survivors.

Since premiering in theaters last weekend, the eighth and final “Mission: Impossible” movie has pulled off a box office heist worthy of the IMF, raking in over $200 million worldwide. Critics are calling it a “sentimental sendoff” for Tom Cruise’s iconic role, with reviews praising its incredible action sequences.