The legendary Mission: Impossible character no one saw coming back in The Final Reckoning

In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise flies flaming biplanes and dodges deep-sea missiles, but the most unexpected twist doesn’t arrive on a zipline or with an explosion. It shows up in a beard and a parka, in the middle of nowhere.

Toilet to outpost: look who’s back in Mission: Impossible

While the franchise’s final chapter makes a lot of noise tying up two decades of dangling plot threads, Final Reckoning quietly lands a neat callback on an icy island in the Bering Sea. And unless you’re a die-hard fan with a photographic memory, you probably didn’t have “return of William Donloe” on your M:I bingo card.

Donloe, played by Rolf Saxon, was the CIA analyst Ethan Hunt duped back in 1996 – the guy with the upset stomach who left his vault unattended just long enough for the most iconic heist in franchise history. You remember: the drop-from-the-ceiling scene, silent except for that one bead of sweat.

As punishment, his boss famously wanted him “manning a radar tower in Alaska by the end of the day.” And that, we assumed, was that. Let’s relive it...

Nearly 30 years later, the movie writers decided to cash that check, showing us that Donloe is still there.

As it turns out, he made Alaska home. Married, settled down, trained sled dogs. And when Ethan’s team turns up needing help tracking a submerged Russian submarine, it’s Donloe who steps forward - no longer the bumbling fall guy, but a low-key hero. Not flashy, not fast, but willing.

Here is Saxon discussing his comeback...

While the franchise is built on spectacle, stunts and surprises, this is a rather lovely nod to its origins. And a reminder that even the eye-catching spy protagonist needs a little help from others every so often.

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