Tom Cruise is hopeful Mission: Impossible 7 can resume filming in June. The upcoming action sequel was one of the first Hollywood projects to shut down amidst the coronavirus pandemic, stopping production in late February. At the time, Mission: Impossible 7 was supposed to shoot for a few weeks in Italy, one of the countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 outbreak. Making things all the more complicated for the team is the fact Mission: Impossible 7’s story is set in Venice, meaning the Italy location was essential to the film.
For nearly two months, Mission: Impossible 7 has been on hiatus, and it’s unknown when it will be able to start up again. At one point, it was thought the earliest delayed productions could resume is mid-May, but that window seems to be too optimistic with the way things are going. Right now, studios appear to be banking on late summer/early fall for when it might be safe again; Black Adam postponed the start of filming to August or September. For his part, Cruise has his fingers crossed Mission: Impossible 7 will be rolling again a little earlier than that.
According to Variety, Cruise wants Mission: Impossible 7 to resume production come June. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind this is just Cruise’s best-case scenario hope and not anything official. There’s still a lot that has to happen before Mission: Impossible 7 (or any delayed movie/TV show for that matter) can continue filming. Variety’s report mentions “legal issues” and the availability of COVID-19 testing as hurdles Mission: Impossible 7 will have to clear.
Cruise probably isn’t alone in wanting Mission: Impossible 7 to start back up as soon as possible, but that decision will largely be out of his control. The coronavirus pandemic remains a very fluid situation, making it difficult to predict how things will stand a few weeks from now, let alone a few months. And while Paramount has a lot invested in Mission: Impossible 7, the studio knows it isn’t worth the risk to resume production unless health officials deem it safe. This could mean Mission: Impossible 7’s release date has to be delayed. The pandemic has already caused changes to the 2021 and 2022 movie release calendars, with The Batman being a recent example.
At this point, it’s hard to see June being a realistic date for Mission: Impossible 7 – especially since there’s some doubt movies planned for release in August (like Wonder Woman 1984) will be able to come out by then. Unless things take a drastic turn for the better over the next few weeks, it likely won’t be feasible for a massive blockbuster movie to film (even with a skeleton crew). All of Hollywood is itching to get back to work, but for now, even the ultimate daredevil Tom Cruise has to hold off until he gets the go-ahead.
Source: Screenrant, by CHRIS AGAR