Mission: Impossible 7 will resume production this September. The Tom Cruise-starring action film halted work back in late February when the coronavirus pandemic hit Italy (where work was set to begin) hard, and since then it has remained in limbo. Mission: Impossible 7 was among the first major productions to shut down because of the pandemic, with countless others joining suit over the following weeks. Even now, very few have officially signaled they intend to get back to work soon, though some countries have begun to lift the restrictions that would prevent them from doing so. Avatar 2 was the first to set a new start date, with filming resuming once the cast and crew completes their mandatory 2-week quarantine in New Zealand.

Because of Mission: Impossible 7's shut down, Paramount was forced to delay the film's release date from July 2021 to November 2021. As a result, Mission: Impossible 8 was also pushed back. The two films are essentially one split in two, and Mission: Impossible 8 is slated to film right after work on is completed. Rumors cropped up in March suggesting Mission: Impossible 7 had once again began work in the U.K., but they were proven to be false. Instead, director Christopher McQuarrie and his team have waited for the all-clear to begin again.

Related: Mission: Impossible 7 Story Details Reveal Coronavirus Problems

Now it's their hope that production on Mission: Impossible 7 can begin once more in September. "We hope to start shooting again in September," first assistant director Tommy Gormley told the BBC (via Deadline). "We were days from shooting in Venice — we were right at the epicenter when it all kicked off — so we had to shut down in Venice where we were four or five days from shooting." Gormley added they still hope to visit all the countries they intended to, which suggests Mission: Impossible 7 might not scrap the Italy portions like initially suggested. They also intend to spend time in the U.K. In terms of how long production will go, Gormley estimates they will work from September to April/May 2021.

The IMF team stand outside in Mission Impossible: Fallout.

This development comes after the U.K. set new guidelines for film and television productions, which would also affect movies like The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3. These guidelines are especially helpful for large productions like Mission: Impossible 7, which require a big number of cast and crew members to be on set at one time. Additionally, Simon Pegg (who plays Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible films) told Variety that they "will begin with the outdoor stuff. That feels fairly doable, and obviously there will be precautions put in place." When it comes to the pandemic, it is said to be safer outdoors than it is indoors.

The production delay has affected Mission: Impossible 7 in other ways beyond the release date bump. Most recently, Nicholas Hoult was replaced by Esai Morales in the villain role after scheduling conflicts forced Hoult to drop out. Luckily, however, it sounds like Mission: Impossible 7's biggest obstacles are finally clearing up. While September is still months away, it's probably good that the crew is being cautious about returning to ensure they don't have to shut down again. Hopefully, when Mission: Impossible 7 starts up once more, it won't have any further issues.

More: Mission: Impossible 7 - Every Character Returning In The Sequel

Source: Deadline, Variety

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