Official release dates have been given to Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 for 2021 and 2022, respectively. The Tom Cruise action franchise hit new heights last year with the release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout in almost every way; the action was bigger and better than before, the critical reception was sky high, and it is the highest-grossing installment in franchise history. That said, the future was unclear before director Christopher McQuarrie signed on to direct two more installments.
McQuarrie is a frequent collaborator of Cruise’s and is the first person ever to direct multiple installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise. He joined the franchise as a writer for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and then directed Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation in 2015. He’s now set to write and direct the next two entries in the franchise. At the time of this announcement, it was revealed that the plan is to shoot the two films back-to-back in order to hit unspecified release dates.
As shared by Variety, Paramount Pictures has now given official release dates to the next two films. Mission: Impossible 7 will hit theaters on July 23, 2021, while Mission: Impossible 8 will be released on August 5, 2022. Cameras could start rolling as soon as the end of 2019 with release years already planned, though no other details about either of the two films has been revealed.
Once the franchise was revived by Brad Bird for the fourth film, Paramount placed the franchise in December, but has since moved it back to the summer season under McQuarrie. Both of his previous two films had release dates at the end of July, so the decision to follow that pattern for Mission: Impossible 7 is not too surprising. Their decision to put Mission: Impossible 8 in August is likely the result of Disney and Marvel Studios previously claiming the last weekend of July for an unknown movie. Not going head-to-head with the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film is a smart move, but coming out just a week after could still make for a tricky opening - depending on what the movie is.
With production expected to begin by the end of this year (or early next year at the latest), details on what McQuarrie and Cruise have planned could come soon. There have been rumors that the new films could bring back Henry Cavill or Alec Baldwin through flashbacks, but that is not yet confirmed. McQuarrie, meanwhile, has stated that Cruise has “really big ideas” for the franchise’s future. Considering everything the duo pulled off in the last film, especially from a stunt standpoint, fans of the franchise should be thrilled to know exactly when they can expect to see Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 in theaters.
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Source: Variety
