Despite the rumors, Tom Cruise did not buy COVID-19 robots to police his Mission: Impossible 7 set. Cruise is returning to his famous role of Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment of his blockbuster franchise Mission: Impossible. However, much like other productions, Mission: Impossible 7 has dealt with its fair share of issues due to the global pandemic. The film’s production has been halted twice, first in February last year and later in October when 12 people on set tested positive for COVID-19. Also, Cruise saw his film’s release date pushed back by Paramount, as it is now releasing in November of this year as opposed to July.

Understandably, it’s likely been a stressful time for Cruise, who cares deeply about the M:I franchise, and that stress seemingly boiled over last month in the much talked about audio that was released of Cruise yelling at crew members for disobeying social distancing protocols. Although the message behind Cruise’s rant was fair and even supported by some, like his co-star Vanessa Kirby, it has also been reported that it's created a tense environment for many. Cruise is not only the star of Mission: Impossible but also serves as a producer, and he helped put the necessary COVID-19 protocols in place for his latest spy film. The star also reportedly spent over half a million dollars of his own money on cruise ships to provide housing for the crew, so they can essentially create their bubble system. However, the latest reported COVID-19 safety protocol for Cruise’s film has now been debunked.

Related: Every Upcoming Tom Cruise Movie

In the last two days, news of Cruise purchasing two state-of-the-art robots to police the set of Mission: Impossible 7 have been swirling around, thanks to a report from The Sun. But according to a new report from SlashFilm, the news of two scary robots that can also apparently test staff is “not accurate.”  According to the SlashFilm report, they “reached out to a source close to the production to get the truth,” and that source informed them that “the story is inaccurate and confirmed that there are no robots on set.”

Although the story sounded a little farfetched to begin with, considering Cruise’s history of daring to do the impossible and unconventional, there was perhaps an element of believability to the story for some. Also, the fact the star is planning on filming in space, one can never truly rule out anything when it comes to the Mission: Impossible star and what he is willing to do for a film. However, many felt his outburst on set was excessive, and so it would have been interesting to see how they reacted to the robots if the story was true. The star is certainly intent on finishing up production on the seventh film without any more problems, but it appears doing so with the help of two robots is not part of his plan.

Mission: Impossible is now shooting in the UK, where principal photography is expected to be completed. The last film in the franchise, Fallout, grossed almost $800 million worldwide, and if theaters resume normal activity by November, the hope would be to surpass Fallout’s success. In addition to completing the film ahead of its release date, the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible are filming back to back, which adds even more pressure to Cruise and co. to ensure they can complete their current production without any more issues. Hopefully, Mission: Impossible 7 can continue without any more COVID-19 related problems, despite not having two robots policing the set.

Next: Mission: Impossible - Why Luther Has Survived Every Movie (So Far)

Source: The Sun, SlashFilm

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