Though fans were happy with the film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, some were disappointed to see the demise of the character Ilsa Faust, played by Rebecca Ferguson over the last three films.
The actress has expressed her love of the role, but also her readiness to leave it behind and move on to other projects. In a recent interview on TheWrap’s Unwrapped podcast, the actress explained:
“To speak very clearly — because I know a lot of people are sad about it, I’m sad about it — I had filmed three films. My deal was done. And I love her beyond words. Beyond words. I think she’s the most awesome, fantastic character. Ilsa was becoming a team player. And we all can want different things, but for me, Ilsa was rogue. Ilsa was naughty. Ilsa was unpredictable. There was a lot of characters coming in, not leaving enough space for what she had been.”
The character Ilsa was first introduced in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation as an antagonist to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, then the storyline saw the pair’s agendas becoming aligned.
A similar path was explored in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, though that film saw her take an even more prominent role in Hunt’s objectives. Ferguson’s character arc was intriguing, but it was able to see its full arc play out, which is all an actor can really ask for. Ferguson continued:
“Selfishly, that’s a lot of time to make a Mission film. And unless you’re going to have a lot of screen time, that’s a lot of time sitting around waiting to film a huge movie that could take over a year to film. It’s dedication.
There’s a moment where you think it needs to be worth it, not just to love the character and to embrace Tom and [director Christopher McQuarrie] and the story. I want to work, man. I want to work. I don’t want to sit in a trailer and know that there’s maybe coming a scene in credits. 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. And the more characters that are brought in, the more waiting.”
Since appearing in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Ferguson has appeared in starring roles in films like The Greatest Showman, two Dune films from Denis Villeneuve and the Apple TV+ series Silo.
She will next be seen in the sci-fi film Mercy, in which she will star opposite Chris Pratt, which is set to hit theaters in 2025.
via: ComicBook
