When “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” debuted, fans expressed their disappointment that Ilsa Faust’s death didn’t have much weight and felt rushed, with some speculating that the character’s passing was faked in a bid to trick The Entity and Gabriel. It turns out that the “Mission: Impossible” death was planned while “Top Gun: Maverick” was in production, years before cameras rolled on Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) seventh adventure. Though it was clearly a deliberate decision that had thought put into it, Faust’s death continues to be a huge question mark for fans.
While some are disappointed that Faust is gone, it seems like Ferguson is happy with her decision to leave “Mission: Impossible” behind for good. During her “UnWrapped” appearance, Ferguson discussed how director Christopher McQuarrie tends to take an improv approach to the films, which leaves the cast with lots of downtime. “You have to literally jump when they say jump, and that’s why it’s amazing. You’re highly trained, highly skilled. It is so intoxicatingly exciting when you’re rolling, but there’s a lot of waiting,” Ferguson said. “And the more characters that are brought in, the more waiting.”
“Mission: Impossible 7” features a handful of new characters, like Grace (Hayley Atwell), making screen time for existing franchise players more difficult to come by. But while Ilsa is seemingly gone for good, Ferguson’s career is only ramping up. The star recently appeared in “Dune: Part Two” and continues to headline Apple TV+’s “Silo” series, both projects she filmed after production on “Dead Reckoning” concluded.