As it turns out, even Tom Cruise is not immune to the effects of a pandemic. Mission: Impossible 7 was among the many film productions shut down earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rogue Nation and Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie is back behind the camera for the sequel, which he intended to shoot back-to-back with the eighth installment in the franchise. Speaking with Variety, co-star Simon Pegg confirmed that the seventh film will resume production in Europe and the U.K. this September, starting with outdoor scenes. “That feels fairly doable, and obviously there will be precautions put in place,” said Pegg, who is reprising his role as Benji Dunn.
First assistant director Tommy Gormley also confirmed the September restart date during an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Today program. Gormley seemed optimistic when asked about the difficulties of resuming production on a big action blockbuster:
If we have the protocols in place and we break down all the procedures very carefully…we will get it going again. Some things are very challenging such as stunt scenes, crowd scenes etc. but we can’t do a ‘Mission Impossible’ movie and not have a fight scene or car scenes in it.
In addition to Cruise and Pegg, Mission: Impossible 7 features returning stars Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Henry Czerny (whose former IMF director hasn’t appeared since the first M:I film). New additions to the cast include Hayley Atwell and Shea Whigham.