Mission: Impossible 8 director claims action scene almost gave viewer 'a heart attack'

Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie has claimed that an action sequence in the upcoming movie almost gave an early audience member "a heart attack".

The filmmaker felt like he and his leading man Tom Cruise had done "something right" when the sequence in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning gave the viewer such a visceral reaction.

"We had a small screening and someone said, 'I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack,'" McQuarrie told Empire magazine. "And I thought, 'I guess we did something right.'"

McQuarrie and Cruise work together to come up with stunts more shocking and death-defying than the last, and he told the magazine that the upcoming eighth film features a sequence that is "the most difficult thing we've ever done".

The filmmaker did not clarify if it was the same sequence that made the audience member feel like they were suffocating. He did not share any details either, however, the trailer shows Cruise flying a plane as well as diving underwater and entering a submarine.

He also teased that Simon Pegg's character Benji Dunn, who joined the franchise in Mission: Impossible III, will have some standout moments among the star-studded ensemble cast.

"I don't think I'm exaggerating to say it contains Simon's best moments in the franchise," he divulged.

The Final Reckoning also stars returning cast members Ving Rhames, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Henry Czerny.

Despite the title, McQuarrie refused to address if it was the last Mission: Impossible film or the last one starring Cruise's Ethan Hunt.

The action movie will be released on 23 May.