The Mission: Impossible movies have been a mainstay of blockbuster cinema for the last 30 years, as Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt saved the world on a regular basis through eight movies against seemingly impossible odds. Mission: Impossible has a far longer history than even Cruise can claim, however — and we’re here to tell you how to watch every single mission… including the missions you didn’t even know about. Here is our Mission: Impossible watch order in both release and chronological order. Should you choose to accept it, of course.

Mission: Impossible movies and TV (release order)

• Mission: Impossible (1966-1973)
• Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob (1969)
• Mission: Impossible (1988-1990)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
• Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (2023)
• Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)

Perhaps you're surprised to see no less than three different Mission: Impossible projects predate the first Tom Cruise movie from 1996. The first is, of course, the original 1960s TV series created by Bruce Gellar that ran for seven seasons and made a star out of composer Lalo Schifin. 1969's Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob is, perhaps, a stretch to include on this list, in that it's an international theatrical release made out of two episodes of that original series (Season 2's 'The Council' two-parter, which originally aired in November 1967), while the 1988 Mission: Impossible is a two-season sequel to the original series that, despite the time gap, even included some of the same actors.

Mission: Impossible movies and TV (chronological order)

• Mission: Impossible (1966-1973)
• Mission: Impossible (1988-1990)

The two television incarnations of Mission: Impossible are canonically tied; the 1988 series included an Impossible Mission Force led by Jim Phelps, as played by Peter Graves, just as he'd done on the original series from the second season on; additionally, one of the IMF in the latter series was the son of one of the original team.

• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
• Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (2023)
• Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)

Unsurprisingly, the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movies are not considered to be canonical with the original Mission: Impossible TV shows, despite sharing concepts and even some character names. Most notably, Jim Phelps, who led the IMF in earlier incarnations, is revealed to be a villain in the first of the Cruise movies. Additionally, the structure of the IMF is different between the TV and movie versions of the franchise, as is the scope of the missions given to each team. 

That a Jim Phelps was part of the IMF in both incarnations of Mission: Impossible has led to some fans believing that the two are canonical with each other; instead, think of them as part of a larger Mission: Impossible multiverse. 

Where can I stream the Mission: Impossible movies and TV shows?

The streaming platform with the most Mission: Impossible content is Paramount+, boasting all eight theatrical films and all seven seasons of the ‘60s television series, which ran for 171 episodes in all. With Paramount Pictures as the principal studio behind the franchise, it has taken full advantage of this synergy to position itself as the ultimate streaming source for virtually all things Mission: Impossible.

The only bit of Mission: Impossible media currently unavailable to legally stream or purchase in North America is the 1969 compilation film Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob. The movie edited a two-part story, “The Council,” from the show’s second season into a feature-length film for theatrical release in foreign markets. Both individual episodes are still available to stream or purchase along with the rest of the season on its usual platforms.

Are the Mission: Impossible TV shows connected to the movies?

Unlike many movie adaptations of popular TV shows, Mission: Impossible shares a connection between the two, although the movies are not considered to be an official sequel to the orignal television series or its 1980s follow-up.

Appropriate for its era, the ‘60s Mission: Impossible series is framed against the backdrop of the Cold War and other contemporary geopolitical crises, both domestic and abroad as IMF is led by its director Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves. Phelps is preceded in the show’s first season by Director Dan Briggs, who is absent, moving forward, without explanation as the series continues.

Graves reprises his role as Phelps in ‘80s revival series, with Phelps coming out of retirement after his IMF Director replacement Tom Copperfield is killed in the line of duty in the series premiere. Running for two seasons, the ‘80s Mission: Impossible series features the usual high stakes, including the first time the American government is forced to disavow an IMF operative on-screen when series regular Casey Randall is killed on a mission in the first season.

The 1996 Mission: Impossible movie reboots the series while recasting the role of Jim Phelps with Jon Voight, the sole character from either television series appearing in the films. Disenfranchised by the end of the Cold War and resulting changes to American intelligence operations, Phelps fakes his death and orchestrates the massacre of his main IMF team on a routine mission in Prague. Phelps and his wife Claire attempt to sell the identities of undercover CIA agents to a European arms dealer only to be stopped and killed by the IMF team’s sole surviving member Ethan Hunt. Subsequent films focus solely on the cinematic adventures of Ethan, omitting any direct references to the television series, and the movies are believed to exist in their own canon, outside of the TV show continuity.

The decision to have Jim Phelps betray his country and the IMF is one that was received with some degree of controversy upon the 1996 movie’s release. Greg Morris, who played IMF mainstay Barney Collier on both television series, reportedly walked out of a screening of the film, disgusted by its handling of the source material. For his part, Graves claims he wasn't offered the opportunity to reprise his role as Phelps for the movie and was ultimaticaly displeased with its villainous depiction of Phelps rather than simply creating a new character to serve as the movie’s traitorous antagonist instead.

Is Mission: Impossible 8 the last one?

As currently stands, 2025's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning was created as the last of the Mission: Impossible movies. In case the use of "final" in the title didn't give it away, the movie has purposeful callbacks to earlier installments in the series going all the way to the 1996 opener in the series. That said, Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt was left alive at the end, in case there are any more missions he chooses to accept in the future. As of writing, none are planned, however.

The M:I series shows no signs of stopping, as Tom Cruise says he'll keep making Mission: Impossible movies until he's 80.