Hannah Waddingham lands Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two role

Hannah Waddingham will star in 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two'.

Director and writer Christopher McQuarrie revealed in a cryptic post on his Instagram account that the 'Ted Lasso' actress - who plays Richmond FC chairwoman Rebecca Welton in the Apple TV+ series - will be part of the cast of the second installment of his upcoming two-part adventure.

He shared a photo of Hannah on set along with the simple caption: "And Hannah Waddingham...#GodSpeed #DeadReckoning. (sic)"

It is unclear what role the former 'Game of Thrones' actress will have in the final movie in the franchise.

It was previously revealed the eighth film was being shot on board a US aircraft carrier in the Adriatic Sea, which is where the photo of Hannah appeared to be taken.

Tom Cruise is returning as Ethan Hunt in the final two movies, with 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One' due for release on 14 July this year, and the follow-up scheduled for 28 June, 2024.

He will be joined by familiar faces Simon Pegg (Benjji Dunn), Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa Faust) and Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), as well as Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss and Shea Wigham.

Vanessa Kirby will play Alanna Mitsopolis, an arms dealer who is the daughter of Max Mitsopolis, Vanessa Redgrave's character in the original 1996 'Mission: Impossible' movie.

Henry Czerny is making a surprise return as Eugene Kittridge, the former IMF director who also appeared in the first film.

Christopher previously teased the two-part adventure would see things pop up from Ethan's past.

He said: "There are many things emerging from Ethan's past.

"'Dead reckoning' is a navigational term. It means you're picking a course based solely on your last known position and that becomes quite the metaphor not only for Ethan, but several characters...

"The first thing we knew was that if it's gonna be a big two-part adventure, it's got to be epic.

"It's going to have to be the installment that swallows the rest of the franchise whole. There's just not another way to do it."