Filming didn’t even begin onMission: Impossible 7for the film’s first production hiccup to arrive. The highly anticipated sequel had planned to kick off production with a three-week leg of shooting in Venice, Italy, but the crew have been sent home and the plans halted due to the spread of the Coronavirus. An outbreak occurred in the country and now more than 150 cases have been confirmed, with the government halting all public gatherings.
As a response, Paramount Pictures said in a statement thatMission: Impossible 7filming plans have been altered:
“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production forMission: Impossible 7. During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves.”
Filming details forMission: Impossible 7have thus far been kept under wraps. After successfully spearheading bothMission: Impossible – Rogue NationandFalloutas writer and director (andGhost Protocolas screenwriter),Christopher McQuarriesigned on to write and direct bothMission: Impossible 7andMission: Impossible 8. Thus far, McQuarrie has confirmed thatNicholas Hoult,Hayley Atwell,Shea Whigham, andPom Klementieffare joining the ensemble withRebecca Ferguson,Vanessa Kirby, andSimon Peggconfirmed to return alongside franchise starTom Cruise. And recently, we learned thatHenry Czernywill be reprising his role as Kittridgefrom the firstMissionmovie.
It’s unclear where else McQuarrie and Co. planned to shootMission 7, but this isn’t the first time he’s had to alter plans on the fly. McQuarrie famously came in and extensively reworked the script forGhost Protocolduring production, conceived of, wrote, and shot the third act forRogue Nationin the middle of filming, and similarly reworked characters and plot machinations during the production ofFallout. Such is the process of making aMission: Impossiblemovie—a process with which McQuarrie has made peace. Although I’m not quite sure it’s ever happened this early.
But health and safety come first, so it’ll be interesting to see if production scraps its planned sequences in Italy and moves elsewhere or if they’ll return later on in the filming process to capture the necessary scenes.
Whatever the case,Mission: Impossible 7arrives in theaters on July 19, 2025 andMission: Impossible 8opens on July 12, 2025.
