Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in the Captain America movies, is set to join Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 7, it was more or less announced Friday evening by writer-director Christopher McQuarrie.

McQuarrie posted a photo of Atwell's headshot resting on top of an Impossible Missions Force binder, with the caption "Should you choose to accept..." Atwell didn't wait long before responding "Mission: Accepted. Though I’m not the sort to follow orders..."

Atwell certainly fits the mold of the Mission franchise's leading ladies, who are rarely American, from Emmanuelle Béart to Thandie Newton to Lea Seydoux to Rebecca Ferguson  and, most recently, Vanessa Kirby. Plus, she's a solid actress who looks good with a gun in her hand, something that is often required of M:I cast members.

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Image via Paramount Pictures

There are no plot details yet for Mission: Impossible 7, but the last film, Fallout, saw Cruise's Ethan Hunt save the world from a nuclear attack with the help of his old friends Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Ilsa (Ferguson). I think it's safe to assume all of them will return for this seventh Mission, along with, in all likelihood, Angela Bassett, who just plain rules and had better be coming along for the next ride.

Fallout, of course, was the highest-grossing entry in the M:I franchise, taking in nearly $800 million worldwide. Paramount will release Mission: Impossible 7 on July 23, 2021, while the eighth film will hit theaters the following year on Aug. 5, 2022.

Atwell is set to reprise her MCU role as Peggy Carter in an episode of Marvel's upcoming animated series What If...? and she's also part of the cast of Netflix's ambitious interrogation series Criminal, which follows 12 stories in four different countries. The British actress recently appeared in Blinded by the Light and Disney's Christopher Robin. She's represented by CAA, Management 360 and Hamilton Hodell.

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Image via ABC
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Image via Starz