Tom Cruise is reportedly unhappy with ViacomCBS's decision to release Mission: Impossible 7 on Paramount+ 45 days after it is released in theaters. Mission: Impossible has been one of the most consistent franchises at Paramount Pictures for the past 25 years, and Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest stars for the studio. The latest installment, Mission: Impossible 7 is currently set to release on September 30th, the latest in a long line of release date changes.
Paramount has undergone quite a major change with the recent announcement that Jim Gianopulos was stepping down as Paramount's CEO and Nickelodeon President, Brian Robbins, would be taking charge of the studio. Paramount Pictures is reportedly prioritizing streaming releases over theatrical films. This seemed to be the writing on the wall as earlier in 2021, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish announced that the studio's films, starting with A Quiet Place Part II would premiere on Paramount+ 45 days after their theatrical release, and this included Mission: Impossible 7. However, since then, Paramount Pictures delayed the release of the film as well as Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick to 2022.
According to THR, Cruise is reportedly unhappy with Baskish's decision to release Mission: Impossible 7 on Paramount+ 45 days after theaters. Cruise wanted to keep the traditional 90-day theatrical window for the film. With the current release date, this would put Mission: Impossible 7 on Paramount+ sometime in November.
Cruise has been one of the biggest proponents of theatrical distribution. While filming Mission: Impossible 7, Cruise released a video of himself going to the movie theaters to see Tenet in London. Cruise has taken his job very seriously, as last December, audio leaked of Cruise berating crew members on the set of Mission: Impossible 7 for not following proper COVID-19 protocols went viral. Cruise has a lot of commitment to making movies and making movies specifically for theaters, and his work ethic and beliefs may not align with the new direction Paramount Pictures is going.
This isn't the first time that Paramount Pictures and Cruise have come into conflict. Famously in August 2006, three months after the release of Mission: Impossible 3, then-CEO Sumner Redstone terminated the studio exclusive contract with Cruise's production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions, due to Cruise's controversial public life. However, Cruise returned to the studio in 2011 with the release of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and since then has starred in the Jack Reacher films and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick. The studio has already committed to Mission: Impossible 8 but there's no word yet on the future of the franchise after that or Paramount Pictures and Cruise's relationship going forward following the Mission: Impossible 7 news.
Source: THR
