Paramount Pictures and Skydance The upcomingMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoningcontinues the action franchise's tradition of filming in eye-popping international locales Tom Cruise and many of his costars shot sequences in the remote Arctic, about 400 miles from the North Pole Actress Hayley Atwell trained to lead a team of sled dogs across the ice, she reveals in a new special issue of PEOPLE Tom Cruise'sMission: Impossiblefilms are as known for their exotic international locales as much as their jaw-dropping action. If eighth installmentMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning(in theaters May 23) is, as its subtitle suggests, the series' conclusion, it will mean no more cast bonding abroad for the tight-knit ensemble. "When you're on location, in the evenings it's nice just to kind of hang,"Simon Pegg, who plays field agent Benji Dunn, tells PEOPLE in thenew special issueabout the action-packed franchise. "It's a very familial group." That proved especially true while filming a particularly memorable set ofFinal Reckoningscenes — in Svalbard, Norway, about 400 miles from the North Pole. "Not that we could really leave the hotel at night," adds Pegg, 55, as an afterthought. "Because it was subzero." Director and co-writerChristopher McQuarrie's new movie takes Cruise's superspy Ethan Hunt and many of his allies to the Arctic circle for several showdowns with foes in pursuit of an artificial intelligence gone rogue. If you think Cruise, 62, and his collaborators were going to fake that locale with green screen magic, think again. Paramount Pictures and Skydance "Everything is high-stakes because you have a very limited time to expose your skin to those elements," saysHayley Atwell, who returns as thief Grace after 2023'sDead Reckoning Part One. "It aided my performance." By all accounts, Atwell, 43, thrived in that harsh environment. "Tom at one point turned to me and he goes, 'I can really see you've blossomed here in the Arctic,'" she recalls. Her favorite memory, she adds, "was working on a sled with huskies." Because Grace leads a team of sled dogs, theAgent Carterstar had to add that skill to her pre-shoot training regimen. She learned how to guide the pooches across vast expanses of ice "without another musher in sight," she says. In time she knew them so well, she could "predict when one dog is going to influence the whole pack." Dogs weren't the only animals joining theFinal Reckoningcrew on location. "We had a few polar-bear-related shutdowns," reveals McQuarrie, 56. "That was really funny," recallsPom Klementieff, who plays assassin Paris. "We were staying on a ship, and we were about to go to set. And then they're like, 'Go back to the ship. There's a polar bear.'" Paramount Pictures and Skydance Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In keeping with tradition on previousMissionfilms, Pegg, a self-described "den mother," made the subzero environment a welcome one by organizing group dinners. The British actor joined costars Klementieff and Greg Tarzan Davis in making a Christmas carol video in the snow — all in matching fur-lined hoods. As Atwell says, "Levity is important. [It] builds trust... When you're making a movie of this scale, there has to be an element of fun." Following itsCannes Film Festivalpremiere,Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoninghits theaters May 23. For more on the franchise, including exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes photos,PEOPLE's special editionis out now. Read the original article onPeople
