Paramount Pictures has announced several changes to its release calendar for 2021 and the following two years, pushing the release of some of their highly awaited films, including Mission: Impossible 7. Fans will have to wait an additional six months to catch Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt back in action as the movie, which was scheduled for a November 19, 2021 release, will now premiere on May 27, 2022.
It isn’t the only Cruise flick that is being pushed further down Paramount’s release calendar. Deadline reports Top Gun: Maverick will now premiere on November 19, the slot vacated by Mission: Impossible 7, which is a four-month delay from its original release date of July 2. Mission: Impossible 8, initially scheduled to hit big screens on November 4, 2022, will now be released on July 7, 2023.
This isn’t the first time that the upcoming films in the Mission: Impossible franchise have faced a delay. Shooting on Mission: Impossible 7, which is being directed by Christopher McQuarrie, had to be paused in early 2020 due to the pandemic when lockdowns were put in place. Additionally, the crew had to take another break after an audio clip of Cruise went viral, where he was heard yelling at the crew for breaking COVID-19 protocols. While the 7th and 8th Mission: Impossible films were initially meant to be shot together, it was revealed in February of this year that due to Cruise’s busy schedule, it wouldn’t be possible.
The studio did not provide a specific reason for the latest shuffle of dates. While Cruise’s films have moved down on the calendar, some other films to see a change in release dates include Jackass, pushed back to October 22, and Dungeons and Dragons was moved to March 3, 2023. An untitled Bee Gees movie will be released on November 4, 2022, whereas the G.I. Joe spin-off Snake Eyes has moved up from October 22 to July 23.
Among all the changes made to the release dates of several films, Paramount has added a new Star Trek film to their line-up, which appeared on their calendar for a June 9, 2023 release. It was previously confirmed that Star Trek: Discovery writer and consulting producer Kalinda Vazquez had been brought on board to write a script for a new Strek Trek film, which would have been produced by J.J. Abrams. However, it is unclear if the Vazquez film is the same as the one announced by Paramount on Friday.
One can imagine the delays are frustrating for Mission: Impossible fans, but the wait is likely to be worthwhile. After all, Cruise is known for going out of his way and putting his life on the line to deliver action scenes worthy of the big screen.
Mission: Impossible 7 is in production at Paramount.
Source: Deadline