Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 Won’t Shoot Back-to-Back Anymore

Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 will no longer shoot back-to-back as originally planned. Since debuting in 1996, the Mission: Impossible film franchise has only gotten stronger with age. The most recent installment, 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, received widespread critical praise and earned $791.1 million at the worldwide box office, confirming it’s still a viable Hollywood property after all these years. Paramount wasted no time in putting together more sequels, bringing back director Christopher McQuarrie to oversee Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8.

When those projects were initially announced in early 2019, the idea was they would film back-to-back in order to meet scheduled release dates in summer 2021 and 2022. Of course, that was well before the coronavirus pandemic happened and greatly disrupted Mission: Impossible 7 production. After encountering numerous delays, the seventh entry is coming down the homestretch, but its direct sequel will have to wait a little longer to get in front of the cameras.

According to Deadline, the next two Mission: Impossible movies aren’t shooting back-to-back anymore. This can primarily be chalked up to star Tom Cruise’s commitment to the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick press tour. Paramount has Top Gun: Maverick slated to come out in July, so the new plan is for there to be a break between Mission: Impossible films, and the eighth installment will gear up after Top Gun: Maverick is released.

While this is Paramount’s strategy for the time being, there’s always the possibility it could be changed again. Right now, there’s no guarantee Top Gun: Maverick will make its July release date. As the pandemic continues and the vaccine rollout is going slower than anticipated, the prevailing belief is many of the summer 2021 movies will be delayed again. There have already been alterations to this year’s movie calendar, and it remains to be seen if the likes of Black Widow and Top Gun: Maverick will be moved. That obviously depends on how things progress over the next few months, but if Top Gun is delayed, then it’s possible Mission: Impossible 8 will start shooting earlier than expected since Cruise wouldn’t be needed for a press tour.

Mission: Impossible 8 is currently slated to come out in November 2022. It’s still too early to say if this shift in the production schedule will impact that date. Considering everything goes as planned without any major setbacks, Mission: Impossible 8 will likely remain on track for release next fall. McQuarrie and company should have plenty of time to complete the film, and Paramount must be confident in that date, since they aren’t moving it yet. It helps the studio is behind both Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 8, which likely made it easier to coordinate these changes.