Deadline is reporting that filming on Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible 7 in Venice, Italy has been halted after the local government “put a stop to all public gatherings” after the number of coronavirus cases in Italy rose to a reported 219 cases.
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Production was set to take place in Venice for three weeks before moving on to other locations. The outlet reports that production will either move the entire crew to another filming location or “to their home countries until they get a better sense of the continuing situation.”
Paramount issued the following statement: “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 for Mission: 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.”
Mission: Impossible 7 is set to premiere on July 23, 2021, followed by Mission: Impossible 8 August 5, 2022.
Joining Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell are returning Mission: Impossible alums Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Simon Pegg (Ready Player One), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Vanessa Kirby (Hobbs & Shaw) and Henry Czerny (Ready or Not) along with newcomers Shea Whigham (Joker), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Avengers: Infinity War) and Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Following the large critical and commercial success of the past two installments, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie signed a new deal with Paramount to return to write and direct the next two installments, turning down other studio offers to continue his long-running partnership with franchise star Tom Cruise. Skydance Media, who joined the franchise with the fourth installment, Ghost Protocol, will be returning to produce the next two entries.
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The Mission: Impossible franchise spans almost 25 years and six films, starting off with modest critical and major box office success in the first two films before launching its lead protagonist into grittier and more explosive stories, each film getting progressively better reviews than its predecessor, with the most recent installment, Fallout, earning the highest reviews for both the franchise and the action genre, currently maintaining a 97% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes while also acquiring the highest box office gross of the franchise at over $790 million worldwide.
