One of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, Mission: Impossible, has had a delay with its latest film, Mission: Impossible 8.
Rebooting the sixties series of the same name, the Mission: Impossible franchise has set the standard for what action movies should be, known for its exhilarating stunt work and commitment to the craft. The saga follows Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an agent for the Impossible Mission Force, an international but independent spy agency that deals with the most important of conflicts. And now it seems that the most impossible mission… is filming the film!
The eighth film in the Mission: Impossible franchise has had it rough. First beginning filming in March 2022 in the UK, the film has faced two different delays. The first was a product of the SAG-AFTRA/WGA strikes of 2023, stalling shooting from July 2023 to March 2024, a total of eight months.
And now, a mere two months after filming resumed, the film has encountered a further delay that is rumoured to last weeks. In a new report by the UK outlet The Mirror, a piece of equipment was damaged while preparing to film, rendering said equipment useless and leading to repairs that may last several weeks.
According to The Mirror, a gimbal buckled under the weight of a $29.3M submarine that was going to be used for filming. A source said to the outlet that “they’re [the Mission: Impossible crew] not happy as it puts production behind, which costs a lot of money per day.” Furthermore, Jordan Ruimy of World of Reel states that the budget for the film is nearing $400m, a definite fault of the delays caused by the strikes and this recent malfunction.
In other Mission: Impossible news, franchise veteran Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, Arrival) says he is open to returning to his role in future instalments. Speaking to Collider, the actor spoke of his dedication to his family leading to him being unavailable for the last two films.
“Yeah. I had to leave that. I was supposed to do more with them. I love those guys. I love Tom [Cruise] so much. We had so much fun, and I love that character a lot. It requires a lot of time away. It’s all in London. I had to go be a dad. It just wasn’t gonna work out then,”
He further states his willingness to get back into the role of William Brandt, his IMF colleague of Hunt.
“Maybe now that my daughter is older that could happen. I’d always jump into a Mission: Impossible anytime and back into Brandt. It’s great.”
The currently untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film is stuck in the middle of production. It is directed by Christopher McQuarrie and stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Shea Wigham and Tramell Tillman. The film is currently scheduled for a May 23, 2025 release date.
