Rebecca Ferguson is explaining her decision to leave the Mission: Impossible franchise.
In an upcoming interview on WrapWomen's UnWrapped podcast, the actress portraying Ilsa Faust referred to the character's prearranged death in 2023's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One as “collaborative,” as reported by TheWrap.
Regarding her butt-kicking assassin who was first shown in 2015's fifth instalment of the Tom Cruise-led series, Rogue Nation, Ferguson, 40, remarked, "Ilsa was becoming a team player."
“And we all can want different things, but for me… Ilsa was naughty. Ilsa was unpredictable.”
"A lot of characters coming in, not leaving enough space for what she had been," she continued, referring to the sixth and seventh instalments in the franchise.
Before Ilsa's introduction in the Mission: Impossible world, there was Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis, also known as the White Widow; Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane, the director of the CIA; Henry Cavill as August Walker, the assassin for the CIA; Pom Klementieff as Paris; Hayley Atwell as Grace, the thief; and Esai Morales as Gabriel, the terrorist.
According to what the Dune star purportedly claimed on UnWrapped, it was the latter character that killed Ferguson to put a stop to her rule as the "rogue" Ilsa.
“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 [contract] deal was done.”
She added that she treasures her Mission: Impossible character “beyond words. I think she’s the most awesome, fantastic character.”