William Brandt

William Brandt is one of the main protagonists of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and ''Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. ''Brandt is an IMF agent, who was forced to work with fellow IMF agentEthan Hunt after the Secretary of the Impossible Mission Force is killed. Brandt had known of Hunt before their mission and had been assigned a mission to protect Hunt and his wife, Julia Mead.

During his mission one day, Brandt followed Hunt for a run, leaving two agents to guard her. He returned to find the agents unconscious and Julia gone. Three days later, what was left of her apparent body was found.

Brandt aided Ethan to succeed in his mission to retrieve nuclear launch codes from Kurt Hendricks and accepted his next mission from Ethan after it was revealed to him that Julia's death had been faked by Ethan to protect her.

He is portrayed by Jeremey Renner who also portrayed the superhero Hawkeye in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Protection Detail
Brandt was assigned to guard Ethan and Julia Hunt from a 6-man Serbian hit squad in Croatia. He felt the job would be simple due to them knowing of the coming force, but felt he should warn Ethan and Julia nonetheless. However, he considered that orders are orders and kept quiet about the coming danger. One day, Ethan went for a run and Brandt followed, leaving two agents with Julia.

When Brandt returned, the two agents were unconscious and Julia was missing. Days later, Julia's body was reportedly found, causing Brandt to retire from his position as a Field Agent and become an Analyst.

Preventing Nuclear War
Brandt traveled with the Secretary of the IMF to retrieve Ethan from Russia after his mission to infiltrate the Kremlin was aborted and the building bombed by a man codenamed Cobalt. During their extraction, the Secretary assigned Ethan a mission to retrieve stolen nuclear launch codes from Kurt Hendricks, who Ethan realized was Cobalt. Brandt was confused by the Secretary's reasoning, but was motioned to keep quiet. After Ethan accepted the mission, set to begin on an IMF train, the vehicle they were riding in was attacked and the driver and Secretary were killed. The vehicle plunged from a bridge into the water bellow. Ethan led Brandt out of the submerged vehicle and the two escaped after Ethan lit a flare and attached it to the Secretary's body as a diversion. Brandt and Ethan then walked to the rendezvous point where they were told Jane Carter and Benji Dunn would be waiting.

After searching for and finally spotting the train, the two were forced to run for it as the train was already in motion. After a code was entered and Ethan used the retinal scanner to confirm his identity as an IMF agent, the two boarded the train. After regrouping with Benji and Jane, the group formulated a plan to stop Hendricks and Wistrom, by intercepting an exchange between the terrorists and an assassin named Sabine Moreau at the Burj Khalifa.

When the mission goes awry, Brandt reveals his past as an agent to Benji and Jane. After learning that Hendricks requires a defunct Soviet military satellite in order to launch the missile, Brandt and the team head to India to stop the launch. Equipped with a special magnetic vest, Brandt enters the server room to deactivate the satellite. However, Hendricks ultimately succeeds in launching the missile. As the group head to the broadcasting station to acquire the launch-control device, Hunt pursues Hendricks whilst Brandt and the others attempt to bring the broadcasting station back online.

However, Wistrom turns the power off, leading Brandt to search for the generator. In an ensuing struggle with Wistrom, Brandt finds himself unable to overpower the terrorist and reach for the switch. Benji intervenes in the nick of time, shooting Wistrom and allowing Brandt to reactivate the generator, leading Hunt to prevent the missile from detonating.

Mission from Ethan
Eight weeks after stopping Hendricks' plan, Ethan asked the team of Benji, Jane and Brandt to take new missions. Benji and Jane quickly agreed, but Brandt attempted to leave without accepting. Ethan stopped him and asked him how he knew Julia was actually dead. He asked Brandt if he had seen the body and then revealed to him that he faked Julia's death to protect her. With closure and relief, Brandt accepted the next mission, leaving Ethan to watch his wife from afar.