The production of Mission: impossible 7 has been one that has continuously been impacted by the global pandemic. The movie was just about to begin filming in Italy when that country became one of the first in Europe to go into lockdown as part of the growing coronavirus threat. When production began again, the cast and crew took steps to keep themselves in a bubble when shooting on location, and when working at the WB studio in Leavesden, the social distancing protocols were so strict that Tom Cruise went off on some crew members that weren't following them. However, when the movie goes back into production after the holidays, everybody may truly need to be more diligent.
When Mission: Impossible 7 resumes filming next month Variety reports that production will shift away from the studio at Leavesden and move to another U.K. studio, Longcross. This is a significant location change because the Longcross studio is located in Surrey in southeast England, which is currently under Tier 4 COVID-19 restrictions, which is the strictest level under the U.K.'s current guidelines. The U.K in general has, much like the U.S., seen an increase in coronavirus cases over the holiday period.
It's perhaps somewhat surprising that, considering the fact that this part of England is under tighter restrictions, filming of a "non-essential" movie production is even possible, but apparently it is. Having said that, it will likely be all the more important that safety guidelines be followed, and Tom Cruise has already shown how...important, he feels it is that everybody follow the guidelines.
An audio recording from the set of Mission: Impossible 7 leaked out earlier this month which purported to include the sound of Tom Cruise berating a pair of crew members on the set who were seen standing too close to each other. Cruise gets fired up to the point where he threatens the job of anybody not following the rules. The response to the clip ran the gamut. Some were happy to see somebody as prominent as Cruise taking the pandemic seriously. Others felt that, while the message might have been good, the method of delivery left something to be desired. And some felt the entire thing was a stunt to drum up publicity.
Whatever the truth, the production will need to be extra careful when everybody returns to work. The fact that filming will be done on a closed set will likely help, assuming that everybody stays relatively to themselves for the duration. Tom Cruise reportedly rented a ship during the film's production in Norway so that the cast and crew could keep themselves in a bubble. Perhaps, since Cruise clearly feels passionately about this subject, we could seem similar steps taken to keep everybody contained as the film finishes production. Mission: Impossible 7 is set to open in theaters in November of 2021.
