Mission: Impossible 7 is on the move once again.
The Tom Cruise tentpole will now open July 14, 2023 with Paramount and Skydance pushing it off its Sept. 30, 2022 date. Paramount and Skydance also have a new date for Mission: Impossible 8, which will open June 28, 2024. It previously was set for July 7, 2023.
This is the latest of several moves for Mission: Impossible 7 over the past 20 months as concerns of COVID-19 continue to shape the theatrical landscape. In April 2020, in the early months of the pandemic, Paramount pushed the project from July 2020 to December 2020. That date did not hold, as M:I 7 moved from Nov. 19, 2021 and then to May 27, 2022.
“After thoughtful consideration, Paramount Pictures and Skydance have decided to postpone the release dates for Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 in response to delays due to the ongoing pandemic. 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 said in a statement.
Cruise, Paramount and Skydance still have Top Gun: Maverick on the calendar for May 27, 2022. The date is not expected to move.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct the seventh and eighth installments of the franchise. The sprawling cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Rob Delaney and Charles Parnell.
The move comes as Paramount’s Scream enjoys a strong run at the box office, earning $54.9 million globally since its Jan. 14 debut. While many studios, including Warner Bros. and Disney, have sent high-profile films day-and-date to streaming, Paramount has kept many of its big titles, such as A Quiet Place Part II, as theatrical exclusives. Both the Cruise-starring Mission series as well as his upcoming Top Gun: Maverick are expected to remain theatrical films as Cruise is a proponent of the theatrical experience, and because of the films’ hefty budgets.
Cruise has starred as IMF agent Ethan Hunt for more than 25 years, dating back to the 1996 original. Fallout, released in 2018, was the highest grossing in the franchise’s history, with $791.1 million globally. The films are known for pushing the boundaries of the action genre, with one signature stunt being at the centerpiece of their marketing.
In August, Cruise and McQuarrie showed off M:I 7 footage to theater owners at CinemaCon, including the latest death-defying Cruise stunt for the film. Said McQuarrie, in a video: “The only thing that scares me more is what we have planned for Mission 8” McQuarrie said at the end of the video.”