As far as the sci-fi realm goes, Simon Pegg is best known for playing Scotty in the Star Trek Kelvin timeline film series, but he’s also contributed to the Star Wars franchise. Pegg briefly appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Unkar Plutt, who Daisy Ridley’s Rey interacted with during her time on Jakku. Well, Pegg has returned to the desert where The Force Awakens shot its Jakku scenes as part of Mission: Impossible 7’s production.
Like so many film and TV projects over the last year, Mission: Impossible 7 has hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with principal photography not beginning until the beginning of September 2020, seven months later than originally planned. However, despite some setbacks and complications, the Mission: Impossible 7 machine continue to chug along, and now the cast and crew are in the same area of the United Arab Emirates Simon Pegg visited for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Take a look at the cool picture Pegg shared on Instagram chronicling his return:
If you don’t remember seeing Simon Pegg in this sandy environment during Star Wars: The Force Awakens, that’s because Unkar Plutt wasn’t a human, but a hulking Crolute. Combine that alien look with the character’s incredibly deep voice, and you wouldn’t be faulted for not knowing that Pegg was in the movie that kicked off the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. But for Mission: Impossible 7, Pegg’s face will be fully on display as he reprises Benji Dunn, and evidently the latest mission he and his teammates find themselves on will require them to head to a desert. Hopefully they packed their sunscreen.
Simon Pegg has been a consistent presence in the Mission: Impossible film series since debuting as Benji Dunn in 2006’s Mission: Impossible 3. Benji started out aiding Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt as a technician for the Impossible Mission Force, and in addition to being computer savvy, he’s also proven himself out in the field on several occasions. Pegg recently commemorated his time working on both Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and now we have another peek of what’s in store for him in Mission: Impossible 7.
No specific plot details for Mission: Impossible 7 have been revealed to the public, although it is shooting back-to-back with Mission: Impossible 8. That said, there are plenty of other familiar characters who will be back alongside Benji Dunn and Ethan Hunt, with the lineup including Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickell, Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, Vanessa Kirby’s Alanna Mitsopolis, Frederick Schmidt’s Zola Mitsopolis and Henry Czerny’s Eugene Kittridge. Christopher McQuarrie also returned to direct and write the screenplay. As for brand-new faces, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Shea Whigham and Pom Klementieff are all taking part in Mission: Impossible 7.
As things stand now, Mission: Impossible 7 is set to arrive on November 19, and Mission: Impossible 8 will follow on November 4, 2022. Whether the action franchise will continue past that remains to be seen, but while we wait for more news about what the next movie intends to deliver to the masses, keep apprised of what else is supposed to hit theaters this year with our 2021 release schedule.
