Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie has shed more light on the fan-favorite bathroom fight between Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Henry Cavill’s August Walker in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, stating that a third household name was originally set to join the bare-fisted brawl, reported in a recent article featured on The Hollywood Reporter. Unfortunately, this unnamed male actor was unable to keep up with the rigorous physical demands of the role that both Cruise and Cavill have met tremendously.
Cruise’s physical dedication to his stunts within the franchise is well documented: from strapping himself to a plane all the way back to Brian De Palma’s theatrical debut of the franchise where Cruise trained to perform the underwater sequence in real-time.
Cavill, however, is just as deserving of admiration for his physical dedication to his roles, being labeled a “Warrior Monk” by Zack Snyder. Both Snyder, who directed Cavill’s Superman in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League, and McQuarrie speak nothing but the highest praises of Cavill, expanding on his unwavering dedication to his action roles.
With this in mind, it is easy to imagine how another big named actor just couldn't keep up with these two action juggernauts. As a result, McQuarrie elected to cast one of the film’s stuntmen Liang Yang as the third fighter. “It’s a sequence other actors, when learning the level of commitment required, simply opted out,” McQuarrie said. There is no telling who this mysterious combatant was initially set to be; perhaps with time, McQuarrie will reveal his true identity.
McQuarrie, who took the helm of the Mission Impossible franchise after Brad Bird’s revival of the series following a five-year hiatus with 2011’s Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol has continued to maintain the new consistent high standard that is associated with the franchise. His contributions began with Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation in 2015, followed by Mission: Impossible - Fallout in 2018, and the much-anticipated Mission: Impossible 7 set to release in 2022.
Fans of the series know the unfortunate truth that Cavill’s Walker was killed off during his first appearance in the franchise. Perhaps an oversight considering the overwhelming reaction of fans to Cavill’s charisma in the film during his admittedly short duration on screen, no doubt due to the infamous mustache that plagued the theatrical release of Joss Whedon’s Justice League and now iconic double fist pump. Considering all the twists and turns the franchise has taken, this far it's not out of the question to expect a triumphant return of Cavill within the Mission: Impossible franchise. McQuarrie, who has control of the franchise for the foreseeable future, states: “I’m in the process of rewriting Mission: 8 right now, this afternoon I could turn a page and any actor from the past could come back.”