Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie has confirmed the movie's climactic train sequence was "not remotely" influenced by the Naughty Dog video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
Fans of the Uncharted franchise spotted similarities between an iconic scene from the game and the wild stunt sequence in the movie. It even caught the eye of Bruce Straley, the co-director of Uncharted 2, who compared images of both protagonists dangling from train cars, along with the caption: "…the sincerest form of flattery!"
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— Bruce Straley (@bruce_straley) July 15, 2023
…the sincerest form of flattery! ? pic.twitter.com/qwVrLWqj2A
During a recent interaction on Threads, McQuarrie responded to the comparisons of the two sequences when a fan asked him whether he had ever played or was influenced by Uncharted 2 for Dead Reckoning's major set-piece in the final act, to which he responded: "Not remotely. I honestly know very little about the world."
McQuarrie recalled dropping the word "uncharted" in a post about Rogue Nation and getting misinterpreted. "I used the word in the literal sense in a post years ago and have been hearing that ever since. Games are just something I know nothing about," he said, adding later: "The only [game] I ever played was Unreal Tournament."
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theaters, and its opening weekend brought in a franchise-best $235 million at the worldwide box office. The two-part movie reportedly serves as a send-off for Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, with the first half of the story setting the stage for the sequel, due out in 2024.
The reception to Mission: Impossible's Dead Reckoning chapter has been positive so far. IGN's review of Part One praised McQuarrie for creating "an explosive yet self-reflexive action saga that leaves you wanting more", with his third outing of the series proving that "he still has an ingenious bag of tricks to pull from".
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
