Gay Twitter believes (justly) that the latest Mission: Impossible poster is evoking a yearning queer romance. The poster features Ethan (Tom Cruise) and Benji (Simon Pegg) resting their foreheads sweatily on each other, giving the impression of an intimate embrace.
Related
Diversity, queer inclusion, and a wonderfully cozy time
A user hilariously quotes the official Mission: Impossible Twitter account, “Did you make that new promo post?” “Sure did boss, real f*ckin homoerotic just like you asked.”
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
Unfortunately, Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning is not queer. It’s painfully obvious in its need to spoon-feed us an inadequate romance between Ethan and Grace (Hayley Atwell). And let’s not forget the sprinkled-in macho sequences, where Cruise brutally beats his enemies in Fast & the Furious fashion, and at some point, his love interest is used as bait to entice him to surrender a key that holds the weight of the apocalypse. We get it. We know how it sounds, but we didn’t watch this movie for it to be good—it gave us a laugh, and the ridiculous action scenes were worth every penny.
Spoilers below!
The Final Reckoning felt like one last hurrah from Cruise for the franchise as Ethan passed the torch to Benji and his new team to protect the world in their own way. At the same time, Ethan watches over the Entity (a powerful AI system) from the shadows, ensuring that no one corrupt gets their hands on it, ultimately preventing the world from ending. The team of Ethan, Benji, and Luther (Ving Rhames) is also sadly dismantled as Luther bravely sacrificed himself to save Ethan and the world.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning may not be queer, but the screen is so big in theaters that no one can tell the difference. Team Ethan and Benji forever!
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
