The Mission: Impossible movies have been summertime staples to see on the big screen for nearly 30 years. Following Dead Reckoning Part One’s release just a week shy of a year ago, I’ve been looking forward to what action-packed scenes are headed our way in the eighth Mission: Impossible movie. I’m finally getting excited about Tom Cruise’s next big stunt now that the cast is starting to share that they are finishing up their time on set.
Simon Pegg, who has been a favorite character of mine from the IMF team since he first joined the crew in 2006’s Mission: Impossible 3, announced that he had wrapped on the latest M:I film. Check out what he said about his work on M:I 8 in his Instagram story:
I just wrapped my last day on Mission Impossible and said a farewell to everybody. And we started shooting the first part of this story in September 2020, and here we are in July 2024. What a journey has been. And what a fucking incredible spectacle this next film is going to be, I'm so excited for you to see it. But until then, Benji Dunn signing off.
While speaking right to fans in a video message on the social media account, Simon Pegg updated that after nearly four years working with Tom Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie on the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible movies, he’s finally said goodbye to the set.
Thought Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Was Great? It 'Pales' To 8, Says Tom Cruise's Co-Star
While the two Mission: Impossible movies were originally set to be filmed back-to-back with a much earlier release date, that was reportedly changed when McQuarrie decided to rewrite the script for the eighth film.
The cast started shooting in March of 2022 in the UK (including the production shutting down a famous location in London for a sequence) before moving the production to Malta, South Africa and Norway. However, when the SAG-AFTRA strike began in July, production was halted again before picking back up in March of this year.
Simon Pegg’s words about Mission: Impossible 8 being a “fucking incredible spectacle” has me absolutely on the edge of my seat regarding what’s to come in the sequel. While I wasn’t super high on the seventh movie, I have a really good feeling about McQuarrie learning from the mistakes of Dead Reckoning, along with taking the extra time they had to craft something incredible. Plus, no matter what, Cruise always delivers when it comes to presenting the action-packed “wow” factor.
When it comes to 2025 movies, there’s a lot I’m already looking forward to. Mission: Impossible 8’s May 23 release will come a couple of weeks after Thunderbolts* and a week before the next Karate Kid movie. In a packed summer that will also involve the next Superman film and 28 Years Later, I know I can bet on some really fun scenes between Ethan and Benji when it comes to what’s in store for their next mission!
