Tom Cruise must be feeling pretty vindicated today. Months after audio leaked of him screaming at the crew of Mission: Impossible 7 — a still inappropriate move no matter how you want to spin it — the film has shut down production for two weeks after at least one positive COVID-19 test among the crew. There's no confirmation as to how many members of the staff tested positive at this time.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news today, including a statement from the production team. “We have temporarily halted production on Mission: Impossible 7 until June 14th, due to positive coronavirus test results during routine testing. We are following all safety protocols and will continue to monitor the situation,” read a statement.
Mission: Impossible 7 has been in the works for what may feel like forever, but that's largely due to the pandemic. The United Kingdom has been in and out of lockdown over the course of COVID, resulting in sporadic filming and complicated schedules for all involved. After shutting down in February of 2020 with most other film productions around the globe, the crew has been filming (mostly) consistently since December of last year. As of now, the film is still slated to release May 27, 2022.
Tom Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in the long-running franchise, and will be joined by the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff and Henry Czerny. Christopher McQuarrie, who has a long standing relationship with the franchise after directing both Rogue Nation and Fallout, will return to direct both this film and the upcoming eighth installment to the franchise.
