10 Insane Reasons Actors Didn't Return For Movie Sequels

4. Rebecca Ferguson Hated The Shooting Process - Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

The death of fan favourite character Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One left many hugely disappointed, albeit hopeful that she'd return in the final film, The Final Reckoning, having faked her demise.

But Ferguson made it clear last year that she wouldn't be back for the series' epic finale, and it largely came down to the series' infamously time-consuming production.

Because filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie effectively wrote each film's script on the fly during production, it often resulted in actors effectively being on call for months on end.

And with Ilsa becoming more of an ensemble character in Dead Reckoning Part One, Ferguson ultimately decided that she didn't want to put other projects on hold to make space for Mission: Impossible.

The actress quite rightly pointed out that, in the time it took to shoot The Final Reckoning, she filmed two seasons of the Apple TV+ sci-fi series Silo as well as Dune: Part Two.

And so, there's nothing unreasonable about Ferguson's decision, even if it's rare for any actor to turn down a huge role in one of the biggest blockbuster franchises on Earth because of how long it takes to make.