The fuse is lit, and the mission is on! Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is exploding into theaters this week. And to celebrate we were given the opportunity to chat with the cast of the long awaited next (and final?) installment in the adventures of Ethan Hunt. First up, our interviews with Oscar-nominee and legend, Angela Bassett, and MCU mainstay turned IMF mainstay, Hayley Atwell!

Ironically enough, Mission: Impossible actually did the impossible; it gave us a Black female President! And if ever there was going to be an actress to portray one, it had to be Bassett, who recently got an Oscar-nomination for playing Queen Ramonda in Wakanda Forever. And it’s refreshing as hell to see what it would actually look like if the US had a smart president capable of making morally advantageous decisions under pressure, rather than flip flopping about tariffs they don’t understand to protect their stupid egos.

Adding to the theme of female empowerment, Atwell continues her dynamic run as Grace in the film, picking up where she left off in Dead Reckoning. While I will say I miss Rebecca Ferguson’s incredible Ilsa Faust, Atwell does a terrific job playing an interesting, light-fingered foil to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. And given all she’s done to portray strong female characters in roles such as Peggy Carter in the MCU, there’s no one better to follow in Ferguson’s footsteps.

Take a look at what these incredible, classy actresses had to say about the latest installment of the high-octane Mission: Impossible franchise!

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning hits theaters this Friday! Look out for our interviews with Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis, and franchise mainstay, Simon Pegg, all coming up only on The Nerds of Color!