Tom Cruise Behind The Mission: Impossible 7 Shutdown?

Could the most recent shutdown for Mission: Impossible 7 be because of Tom Cruise? There's some speculation that's the case

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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Mission: Impossible is one of the premiere action franchises out there, making the next film in the series one of the more anticipated films out there. But the flick has faced significant delays over the last year-plus with production being shut down once again this month. The Sun is reporting that star Tom Cruise might be at the center of this most recent delay. The tabloid has it that there is considerable speculation that Cruise is actually the reason for the most recent Covid-19-related delay. 

Of course, this is only a rumor about Tom Cruise at this point, with no firm word out of the production for why or who was responsible for this most recent delay in the Mission: Impossible 7 delay. There had been reporting that a crew member had tested positive at the beginning of June marking a multi-week stoppage in production and filming. But The Sun is citing some sourcing that implies Cruise, while not necessarily the one who tested positive, may have been in contact with the crew member. And that’s the reason for the ongoing delays. 

This latest delay for Mission: Impossible 7 comes after a much-publicized rant captured by an unnamed source that had Tom Cruise incredibly angry over certain crew members not adhering to Covid-19 protocols while filming back in December. This audio had the star threatening to fire anyone who wasn’t in compliance with certain rules and regulations regarding mask-wearing and social distancing. There was speculation about who actually released the audio, but regardless, it was following multiple hiatuses in filming because of the pandemic. 

tom cruise mission impossible

Tom Cruise and company were supposed to have finished Mission: Impossible 7 filming back at the beginning of June, but this latest delay has once again pushed back the timeline. And now, it might be a close call on filming. Originally, planned to shoot the seventh and eighth installments back-to-back, that plan had to be scrapped because of the pandemic. And there’s another Cruise-related issue coming up with the actor contracted to begin Top Gun: Maverick promotional staring in the next couple of weeks. 

It stands to reason they are still able to complete Mission: Impossible 7 in enough time to not have to face another delay. But it might be closer than anyone ever would have wanted. Whether this latest delay in production is related to Tom Cruise or not, it might be neither here nor there. The film is already significantly behind schedule and the status of the eighth film is very much up in the air. It could be quite some time before they are able to gear up to get that movie made. 

Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise in the lead, remains one of the best franchises out there and these next couple of movies are bound to be massive successes once again. The last three installments, Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout totaled more than $2.1 billion dollars at the box office combined and were massive hits with critics as well. The expectations are high for this next one. Now it’s just a question of when we’ll actually get to see it.