Viewers are curious to know why , who played , wasn’t included in the of . She was a former M16 intelligence operative and deuteragonist, who suffered an ill-fate in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023).

The antagonist, Gabriel, stabbed her in the heart on the Venice Bridge. By the time Hunt arrives, it’s too late, and she takes her last breath. Although her character died, fans had speculated that she could have survived, and there was a possible way to make her return in the current installment.

No, Ferguson’s Ilsa is not alive in Mission: Impossible 8 as she died in the previous installment.

However, her face does appear repeatedly in some flashback scenes. But these scenes are from past movies as she didn’t shoot any new ones for the current installment. An ongoing theory made fans believe that Ilsa could be alive.

This theory emerged from the official trailer, where the camera showcases blood dripping from an individual’s hand. In the background, a man in a blue shirt appears to be lying in the front bed, which many assumed to be Luther.

As in the previous movie, Luther went on a hideout in an attempt to bring down The Entity. So, many wonder who he is sharing the hideout with; suspected characters are Grace, Benji, White Widow, and others. However, some fans believe there are slim chances of these characters being with Luther, given none of them are in danger.

Therefore, there has been speculation among fans that the injured person could be Ilsa. This is because the past movie didn’t provide any explanation of what happened to her body after she got stabbed, and the team moves on to their mission related to the train heist. This raises suspicions that Ilsa could have faked her demise and that Hunt is secretly on a mission to save her.

However, the theory isn’t true as Ferguson had no plans to return to the franchise after Dead Reckoning. In a conversation on the Unwrapped Podcast, she opened up about how the lengthy production played a role in her decision to exit the franchise.

“Selfishly, that’s a lot of time to make a ‘Mission’ film. Unless you’re going to have a lot of screen time, that’s a lot of sitting around,” the actress shared. “I want to work. I don’t want to sit in a trailer and know that there’s maybe coming a scene in credits.”