Apparently releasing a movie is turning into its own impossible mission. Paramount has just announced that the next two installments in its popular Tom Cruise-led Mission: Impossible franchise have been delayed once again. Mission: Impossible 7, originally scheduled for release in 2021 and most recently scheduled for September 2022, has now been moved to July 14, 2023. Mission: Impossible 8, recently scheduled for July 2023, will now open June 28, 2024.
“After thoughtful consideration, Paramount Pictures and Skydance have decided to postpone the release dates for Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 in response to delays due to the ongoing pandemic,” the companies said in a statement acquired by the Hollywood Reporter. “The new release dates will be July 14, 2023, and June 28, 2024, respectively. We look forward to providing moviegoers with an unparalleled theatrical experience.” Paramount and Skydance are also teaming up on another Tom Cruise mega sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which has similarly shifted around a lot but will reportedly not move again. It’s scheduled for release May 27
Honestly, the move is a little bit surprising. Yes, the omicron variant has people rightfully cautious, but very few films have actually moved off their release dates in the past six months or so. In fact, the last major ones, coincidentally enough, were Mission: Impossible 7, Top Gun 2, and Jackass 4, all Paramount films. Plus, the company just had a solid success with the theatrical release of Scream. All of which makes the Mission: Impossible shift a bit curious, especially since there are still nine months to go before the previously scheduled September release of Mission: Impossible 7.
Little is known about the plot of the new films but a few months ago, we did see footage from the film’s set as Cruise attempted an incredibly elaborate and dangerous stunt for Mission: Impossible 7. In it, he rides a motorcycle off a cliff, free falls, and then pulls a parachute and lands safely at the bottom. The actor and his team trained for months to pull it off and it was the first thing shot for the movie. But, obviously, not the last.