Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie has defended the killing of one of the franchise’s fan-favourite characters, saying it was “a noble and heroic” death.
In the latest instalment of Tom Cruise’s spy-action saga, Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust met an unfortunate ending, being killed by the film’s antagonist Gabriel after a chase through the streets of Venice in order to save Grace (Hayley Atwell).
The killing of Ilsa has unsurprisingly caused upset amongst Mission Impossible fans, particularly as the reason for her death was seemingly for Ethan to seek revenge.
Digital Spy’s Mireia Mullor argued that Isla’s death falls into the storytelling trope of ‘fridging’ – where a female character’s death or suffering is used as a tool to further the story of a male counterpart.
However, in an interview with Empire, McQuarrie acknowledged criticism of Ilsa’s death and fridging arguments but defended the choice to kill the character off.
“It’s a very heroic death for that character. It is not in any way, shape, or form disposable. It’s a noble and heroic death,” he said. “That, to me, is the hardest thing to find for a character.”
The director said he expected that Isla’s death would be controversial amongst fans, adding that he was prepared for a backlash.
“In the very first test screening, I was fully expecting people to just get up and walk out of the theatre… and I knew that was a possibility. I don’t revel in that. But I know there will be people upset,” he said.
“It’s not what emotion that character instils in the protagonist when that character dies. It’s the value of that character’s death. It’s not any more complicated than that,” he added.