Almost everyone today is familiar with Ethan Matthew Hunt, regardless of whether you’ve seen the Mission: Impossible movies or not. He is a fictional character who serves as the primary protagonist of the wildly famous Mission: Impossible film franchise. Tom Cruise plays this character, who is a highly trained field agent and operator for the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), a covert government organization that manages risky and important assignments. Throughout the movie series, he is seen more than often putting his life in jeopardy to carry out his obligations as an IMF agent.
Throughout the Mission: Impossible films, Julia Meade has remained one of Ethan Hunt’s most significant relationships. Julia makes her debut in the third film, and this is where her relationship with Ethan blooms and develops towards marriage, but is ultimately threatened when Owen Davian kidnaps her in order to blackmail Ethan.
The two narrowly escape death in the end, but their relationship will undoubtedly undergo change as a result of Ethan telling Julia who he really is. Julia must now decide whether to move on with her life alone or stay with the love of her life despite the grave danger involved.
Fans were rather upset when Julia’s role was next to nothing in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol because everyone had anticipated that she would have a bigger role in the series. In the beginning of the film itself, it is made clear to the audience that Julia had a bad ending and that Ethan is still dealing with it, which explains why no one brings up the matter. However, as the film goes on, hints regarding Julia’s fate become increasingly significant for Agent Brandt’s character arc.
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Julia’s eventual fate
At the very end of Ghost Protocol, it is revealed that Julia is still alive and that the operation in Croatia was merely the opening act of a larger task. Skilled IMF agents, including Agent Brandt, have been assigned to watch after Julia at all times while she and Ethan are together in Croatia.
Brandt sends two of his top operatives to watch over Julia while Ethan is away, but when he returns, a terrible scene awaits him. Both of his agents are in an unconscious state, and Julia is nowhere to be found. Once Agent Brandt learns that Julia’s body has been found, Ethan goes on the rampage and kills six Serbian nationalists as payback.
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After Julia’s presumed “death,” Agent Brandt leaves the IMF because he is so overcome with guilt because of the fact that he was the reason behind Julia’s passing. Ethan decides to tell Brandt the truth as the events during the Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol film make him realize that he can fully trust him. He tells Brandt that he only agreed to the Rankow Prison operation because the IMF assured him that no one would be aware that his wife was still alive.
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Unaware that he was being exploited in a completely staged and strategized operation, Brandt spent years taking responsibility for Julia’s demise. He accepts the news with relief and returns to the upcoming Mission: Impossible movies with a lot more assurance because the weight of an innocent person’s death has been lifted from his shoulders.
The original plan for Michelle Monaghan’s character
Because of disagreements over ideas between Brad Bird and Christopher McQuarrie, the creators of the most recent Mission: Impossible movies, Michelle Monaghan’s less significant role in Ghost Protocol is justified and reasonable. According to reports, McQuarrie revised Bird’s screenplay in which Julia was supposed to be killed off, but McQuarrie argued that if Julia passes away, Ethan will have ultimately failed to fulfill his duties.
Ethan and Julia’s characters are strategically separated by her fictional death. Even though Ethan must balance his job and love, he can move forward with confidence knowing that Julia is safe. Thanks to McQuarrier’s clever rewrite and the modification to Julia’s storyline, which also provided Agent Brandt a chance for redemption, and her role in Mission: Impossible- Fallout was definitely a wonderful surprise for the audience.