Some obnoxious people delight in using the term "pics or it didn't happen" with regard to providing photographic evidence of unlikely events. Well, Paramount Pictures is about to put up so those individuals can shut up when it comes to resuming production on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7, despite the ever-present threat of coronavirus.
Last month, Paramount announced that they'd issued a three-week production hiatus for Christopher McQuarrie's upcoming sequel to 2018's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT, starring Tom Cruise as the seemingly indestructible Ethan Hunt. At the time when production had ceased, McQuarrie's next chapter of the M:I franchise was filming in Venice, Italy. Sadly, that area has seen a significant rise in citizens having contracted COVID-19, and is no longer safe for filming as well as other gatherings and activities. After the three-week lull, production has resumed in the U.K., with the first behind-the-scenes photos and video from the set now circulating on the net. The photos feature Cruise as he pilots a car and motorcycle, presumably for a series of pulse-pounding stunts.
To view the photos, simply click the article provided in the tweet below:
Joining Tom Cruise for more Mission: Impossible mayhem is franchise newcomer and MCU alumna Haley Atwell (PEGGY CARTER), with Mission: Impossible vets Rebecca Ferguson (DOCTOR SLEEP), Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD), Ving Rhames (PULP FICTION), Vanessa Kirby (FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW) and Henry Czerny (READY OR NOT). Also set to join the cast are Shea Whigham (JOKER), Pom Klementieff (Marvel's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY franchise) and Nicholas Hoult (TOLKIEN, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD).
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT mastermind, Christopher McQuarrie will write and direct the upcoming film, as well as its sequel, which is scheduled for an August, 2022 release. For the moment, there's no telling if either MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 or its sequel will be delayed due to the continued spread of coronavirus. That being said, it looks as if even a global pandemic won't stop Cruise and the rest of the M:I 7 cast and crew from completing the franchise's next mission.
Do you think it's safe for McQuarrie, Cruise and company to be filming at a time time such as this? What manner of precautions do you think the studio is taking to guarantee the safety of the movie's creative team? Here's hoping that we don't have to report some most-unfortunate news in a few days time, because the coast was not indeed clear. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
For the time being, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 23, 2021. One would hope that this pandemic business is long gone by then, and the film will arrive as scheduled. Our fingers are officially crossed.