What films will bow at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival? Cinephiles find out when Cannes director Thierry Fremaux announces the festival’s line-up next Thursday, April 10. But with a week ago, Fremaux couldn’t help teasing rumors of a certain blockbuster having its world premiere on the Croisette to Variety. So will “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” be at Cannes next month?
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“MI:8″ is being released between May 21st and 23rd in many countries, so the rumor is natural and logical,” Fremaux told the outlet in a new interview today. “Especially since Tom Cruise made a fantastic appearance when he came to the Croisette for “Top Gun: Maverick” and our collaboration with Paramount was wonderful. We hope to be able to reunite with them and greet all of Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie’s fans.” So, yeah, nothing confirmed by Fremaux here, except that the rumors follow a practical logic. But a world premiere out of competition for “MI:8” at Cannes makes complete sense. A globetrotting actioner and one of the most expensive films ever made bowing a week or so before it hits US theaters at world’s most illustrious film festival sounds like a no-brainer for Fremaux, Cruise, McQuarrie and all involved.
Elsewhere in the interview, Fremaux confirmed that “more than half the decisions have been made” for the Cannes 2025 line-up, “and the selection is taking shape.” “However, we still have a lot of films to watch because not everything has arrived in the screening room yet,” he continued. “That means we have to watch more than 50 films in eight days, which is to say all day long, evenings and weekends.” A formidable task, to be sure, but that’s what’s necessary to try and make each festival better than the last. And last year’s Cannes was quite a successful one, with films like Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” “The Substance,” and Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez” making waves this past awards season.
Speaking of “Emilia Pérez,” Fremaux is done with any residual drama left over from the controversy stemming from Karla Sofia Gascon‘s resurfaced tweets. “I will refrain from making any judgement on what seems to me to be a perfect illustration of the confusion into which social networks are plunging us,” said the Cannes director. “I do not share the opinions that Karla Sofia Gascon has expressed, especially since in France some of her remarks could fall under the law, but she is above all an artist and artists are asked to be artists. Does an artist have to be a perfect human being? I don’t think so. Karla Sofia Gascon and the film have paid dearly, let’s move on to something else because it in no way diminishes the value of “Emilia Perez,” as well as Jacques Audiard and his entourage who fully deserved the nominations and awards they received.”
Fremaux also commented briefly on platforms like Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and others having films to premiere at Cannes. “Our relations with the platforms, and recently Apple and Amazon, are excellent and the slightest opportunity is a chance to meet up. I am also sure that the day Netflix has films to offer at the festival, they will return to Cannes,” said Fremaux, downplaying any controversy between the festival and Netflix over the years. “In any case, I repeat it every year, our dialogue has never been broken, [Netflix CEO] Ted Sarandos knows that we are waiting for him with films. And let’s not forget that Netflix has now become a contributor to French cinema by taking part in co-productions. Cannes 2025 will surely bear the mark.”
The Official Selection for the 2025 Cannes Film Festival will be announced in Paris on April 10. And yes, the smart money is on “MI:8” having its world premiere on the Croisette.
