Tom Cruise hangs upside down from a plane in the first trailer for 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.' Here's what we know about the sequel.

• The first look at "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" shows Tom Cruise on the run, again.
• The ominous narration suggests "The Final Reckoning" could be the end for Cruise's character.

"Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" is the second part of the story that started in 2023's "Dead Reckoning Part One," which saw Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) race across the world to stop an all-powerful AI.

The sequel is the eighth "Mission: Impossible" movie starring Tom Cruise, and the first trailer for the 2025 movie suggests that this story could be the end for his character.

Audiences have flocked to see Cruise take on death-defying stunts throughout his whole career, but the "Mission: Impossible" franchise prides itself on upping the ante with increasingly daring action scenes in every film.

It's a move that has paid off for Paramount, which has made over $4 billion worldwide off the series since the first movie was released in 1996.

On Monday, the first trailer for "The Final Reckoning" arrived online. It showed off more adrenaline-fueled sequences as Hunt and his team of spies hunt for a sunken submarine that houses the AI, known only as "the Entity."

Here's what we know about the eighth "Mission: Impossible" movie.

The first trailer for "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" teases the death of Tom Cruise's character

The trailer shows Hunt as he tries to break into the sunken submarine to destroy the Entity. Much of the action seems to take place underwater in and around the submarine's icy location.

The footage also shows off some of the splashy stunts in the sequel. In addition to the obligatory car chases and vicious hand-to-hand combat, there's also a sequence where Hunt is dangling from a yellow biplane.

The trailer ends with Hunt telling an unknown person: "I need you to trust me, one last time."

In 2023, Cruise told the Sydney Morning Herald that he'd happily star in "Mission: Impossible" movies until he's in his 80s. But "The Final Reckoning" trailer seems to be setting up an ending for his character.

Whether he gets written out or killed off remains to be seen.

"Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" arrives in theaters in May 2025

The previous movie, "Dead Reckoning," left fans on a cliffhanger in July 2023, as Hunt stole the key that would let him access the Entity from the film's mysterious villain, Gabriel (Esai Morales), who is also returning for the new sequel.

But the wait is almost over. "The Final Reckoning" will be released in theaters on May 23, 2025.

Tom Cruise is joined by the cast of "Dead Reckoning" with a few new faces

Most of the main cast from "Dead Reckoning" will return in the sequel, including Hayley Atwell as thief Grace, Simon Pegg as tech expert Benji Dunn, Ving Rhames as hacker Luther Stickell, and Pom Klementieff as assassin-turned-ally, Paris.

Angela Bassett is reprising her role as CIA director Erika Sloane, and Vanessa Kirby will return as arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis alongside Frederick Schmidt as her brother, Zola. Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis are also coming back to play intelligence agents, Jasper Briggs and Degas, respectively.

It's unknown whether Rebecca Ferguson will return to play Ilsa Faust, who was seemingly killed in "Dead Reckoning." Many fans have speculated that Ilsa faked her death to fool the Entity, but only time will tell if she really survived.

Cruise and the gang will also be joined by a handful of new characters played by some familiar faces. "Ted Lasso" star Hannah Waddingham, "The Mandalorian" star Katy O'Brian, and "Severance" star Tramell Tillman all have unknown roles in the sequel.

"Parks & Recreation" alum Nick Offerman will play Sydney, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alongside "Mindhunter" star Holt McCallany as Bernstein, the US Secretary of Defense.

Fans of the original "Mission: Impossible" movie will be pleased to know that Rolf Saxon is also returning to reprise his role as CIA analyst William Donloe. The character was a key part of Cruise's memorable heist scene in the original 1996 movie where he breaks into the CIA.