Esai Morales Replaces Nicholas Hoult as Mission: Impossible 7 Villain

The recently-delayed duo of Nicholas Hoult. However, the vacancy was short-lived, and Hoult’s replacement as the mystery antagonist is now confirmed to be Esai Morales.

The exit of Hoult, as reported 8, a coronavirus measure that created a conflict with another commitment for the actor, although, with the two sequels being the only unproduced projects on his (known) docket, it is unclear what that commitment may have been. Regardless, the timing proved fortuitous for the veteran actor, Morales, who was recently seen in the final appearance of his recurring role on ABC’s just-ended Shondaland series, How to Get Away with Murder. The casting was also confirmed by director Christopher McQuarrie himself on Twitter.

There’s currently next to nothing known about the villain character in question, a fated antagonist for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Henry Czerny (who reprises his role from the 1996 original film). Yet, while the apparent confirmation of the actors—which now includes Morales—for both films might be seen as spoiling the characters’ survival in M:I:7, the move could still end up being a red herring for the plot that’s cannily playing out in the news cycle.

Morales—who is 27 years the senior of predecessor Hoult—comes into the Mission: Impossible role having recently completed some pertinent prerequisite work in the “badass villain” category with his run on DC Universe’s Deathstroke, for the show’s 2019 second season. He’s also been seen on recent TV runs on Ozark, NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago P.D., Mozart in the Jungle, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, The Brink and Criminal Minds. However, movie buffs likely still best the actor from his powerful breakthrough performance—and that haunting final scene scream—in 1987’s La Bamba as Ritchie Valens’s half-brother, Bob Morales.