The Mission: Impossible franchise has joined the ranks of movies delayed as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, as Paramount announced that they’ll be pushing back the release dates for the upcoming sequels Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8.
Originally, the seventh Mission: Impossible film was set for a theatrical release date of July 21, 2021, while the eighth would release on Aug. 5, 2022. Per Variety, they will still come out less than a month apart, the release dates have now been changed to Nov. 19, 2021 and Nov. 4, 2022 respectively.
This marks the second major delay in the franchise’s upcoming entries, the first being a halt in production back in February. Lead actor Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie were set to do a three-week shoot in Venice, but Paramount ordered the cast and crew to go on hiatus after Italy received numerous confirmed cases of the coronavirus. McQuarrie was also set to direct the eight film as well, thus adding to his status as Cruise’s longest directorial collaborator on Mission: Impossible.
Originally starting as an adaptation of the 1966 TV series, the Mission: Impossible films have since gained their own identity as one of Hollywood’s most critically acclaimed action franchises. Cruise, and fellow co-star Ving Rhames, have been the franchise’s connective actor elements, but the former has uniquely worked with multiple directors with various visual styles per film. These include Brian De Palma in 1996, John Woo in 2000, J.J. Abrams in 2006 and Brad Bird in 2011 before finding a reoccurring director in Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie previously directed Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) and Fallout (2018).
Mission: Impossible 7 will see the return of Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby, as well as Henry Czerny from the original 1996 film. New cast additions include Nicolas Hoult, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Shea Whigham.
Source: CBR, by BEN WASSERMAN