The Coronavirus COVID-19 has been disrupting the world in a number of ways ever since the outbreak started, and the film industry has been far from immune. There have been regular reports in recent weeks about various projects experiencing various issues as a result of the disease and the panic it's causing, from major premieres in China being cancelled, to concerns regarding international box office sales. Now stories are coming out about the virus actually managing to shut down a production, as Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible 7 has just halted filming in Italy due to news about COVID-19 in the country.
The action film starring Tom Cruise, was originally scheduled to shoot in Venice, Italy for a three week stretch, using the international setting as a background for a nice chunk of the film (as the franchise is known to do), but those plans are now being forced to be altered due to over 150 cases of the Coronavirus being confirmed in the country. Featuring quotes from a spokesperson at Paramount Pictures, The Hollywood Reporter says that the move was made to ensure the safety of the cast and crew.
Per the studio, the filming in Venice was going to be the "first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7," and that the move to halt filming was a decision that came in conjunction with the local government working to stop public gatherings while a threat exists in the country. Tom Cruise was apparently not in Italy prior to the announcement regarding the production roadblock.
The trade report doesn't mention whether or not this turn of events will wind up causing a delay in the release of Mission: Impossible 7, but that's a touch hard to imagine. For starters, the film isn't currently dated to come out until July 2021, which means the production has plenty of recovery time.
Also, fans will remember that the last Mission: Impossible title, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, had its own weeks-long delay following an on-set incident that resulted in Tom Cruise breaking his leg. That film, however, never had to change its position on the release calendar and was released by Paramount as initially planned.
Christopher McQuarrie is back writing and directing Mission: Impossible 7, and this time around he's working with a cast full of both familiar faces and newcomers to the franchise. Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt is once again joined by Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Foust, Simon Pegg's Benji Dun, and Vanessa Kirby's White Widow on this adventure, and new characters will be played by Nicholas Hoult, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, and Pom Klementieff. Henry Czerny, who played Eugene Kittridge in the first Mission: Impossible movie back in 1995, is also set to reprise his old role.
We'll be keeping a close eye on how this delay in production will ultimately affect work on Mission: Impossible 7, so keep heading back to CinemaBlend in the coming weeks as we track updates about shoot.
