The Mission: Impossible film series is one of those few franchises that’s improved as it’s chugged along, as most recently evidenced by the critical and commercial success of 2018’s Fallout. So it’s hard surprising that Tom Cruise’s adventures as Ethan Hunt are continuing, but you’ll have to wait a little longer for Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 to hit theaters.
Originally the plan was for Mission: Impossible 7 to be released on July 23, 2021, with Mission: Impossible 8 following on August 5, 2022. However, Paramount Pictures has announced that the seventh installment of the franchise will now come out on November 19, 2021, with entry #8 arriving on November 4, 2022.
These delays are hardly surprising. When Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 were both announced in early 2019, it was mentioned that they’d be shooting back-to-back. The seventh movie started rolling cameras in February in Italy, but then had to stop in March. Some filming resumed in England weeks later, but considering how drastically daily life has been affected all over the world by current events, it’ll likely be a while until both Mission: Impossible movies will be able to finish principal photography.
As such, it’s understandable why both movies have been pushed to November of their respective years, and they’ll be the first Mission: Impossible installments to be released outside of the summer film season since Ghost Protocol, which came out on December 16, 2011. Ethan Hunt also now has something in common with James Bond, as No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final 007 outing, was originally supposed to come out this month, but it’s now also become a November release; November 25, 2020, to be precise.
Thanks to these date shifts, Mission: Impossible 7 will now finds itself opening opposite Warner Bros’ King Richard as opening weekend competition, while Mission: Impossible 8 will have to face off against Warner Bros’ Shazam! 2 and a yet-to-be-identified live-action Disney movie. Don’t be surprised if any of these movies end up changing their dates to they don’t have to clash with Ethan Hunt and the gang.
These weren’t the only date changes Paramount announced today. The Chris Pratt-led sci-fi movie The Tomorrow War, which was originally supposed to be released on December 25 of this year, has been moved to Mission: Impossible 7’s old date: July 23, 2021. And because Ethan Hunt’s seventh cinematic adventure now occupies November 19, 2021, Dungeons & Dragons, which was previously scheduled there, will now come out on May 27, 2022. The studio has also dated Paw Patrol for August 20, 2021, while the horror-thriller Spell, which was primed for August 28, 2020, has been taken off the calendar.
No specific plot details for Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 have been revealed yet, but they’ve assembled quite the cast. Besides Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, we’ll also see the return of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn, Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow and Henry Czerny’s Eugene Kittridge, who hasn’t been seen since the first Mission: Impossible movie. As for new faces, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham and Nicholas Hoult have all been was in undisclosed roles.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on how Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 are coming along. For now, find out what other movies have been delayed recently with our detailed guide.
