Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 Release Dates Delayed

After the coronavirus pandemic has halted production on the upcoming Mission: Impossible sequels, Paramount Pictures has now confirmed that the films' releases will also be delayed. Variety confirms that Mission: Impossible 7 is now slated to hit theaters on November 19, 2021, originally scheduled for July 21, 2021, and Mission: Impossible 8 will open on November 4, 2022, pushed back from its original August 5, 2022 release date. This news likely doesn't come as much of a surprise to fans of the franchise, as there is currently no end in sight to when the pandemic will subside enough for production on these or any films could resume.

As the coronavirus began to spread across the globe earlier this year, Mission: Impossible was one of the first films to delay its production in Italy back in February.

"Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7," the production announced in a statement. "During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves."

It's difficult to overstate the impact the pandemic is having on the entertainment industry, as it has not only halted productions, but in hopes of preventing the spread of the virus, movie theaters across the world have temporarily shuttered their doors. This has resulted in highly anticipated films seeing major release date delays, even when they were seemingly finished and ready to land in theaters.

The upcoming film stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby, Nicholas Hoult, and Shea Whigham and is being directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

Earlier this year, the director teased the massive scale of the stunts in the upcoming adventure.

"He's not going to space, nor does he need to go to space," McQuarrie shared on the Empire Podcast. "We've figured out three obscene things that he's doing that I'm terrified of, that make the helicopter chase look like tinker toys. He's training and he calls me and describes what he's doing and I laugh and I cheer, then I hang up and I puke into a bucket. He's training quite intensely right now."

Mission: Impossible 7 opens on November 19, 2021 and Mission: Impossible 8 opens on November 4, 2022.