For a series called “Mission: Impossible” the characters sure do seem to make things possible. The film franchise starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt has been a consistent box-office winner for almost 30 years now, dating back to the first movie in 1996. The latest installment, “Dead Reckoning – Part 1″ dropped in July of this year to critical acclaim but a surprisingly weak box office. That journey was supposed to continue in June of 2024, but those plans just became too impossible for even Ethan Hunt to resolve.
This is not the first time, nor will it be the last that we’ve had to report on movie delays this year. At the very least, it’s not because of COVID-19 anymore that films are being pushed back. This time around, it’s the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. As of the time of this writing the strike has just surpassed 101 days and even if it were to resolve immediately, it has already significantly impacted the filming of current projects. We already noted previously how “Deadpool 3″ is potentially getting delayed. Having a tentpole film like “Mission: Impossible“ getting moved though? That’s big.
The next installment, the eighth in the series for Paramount Pictures, won’t be hitting the big screen until May 23, 2025. It’s an 11-month delay that sees the film still finding its way into summer blockbuster season, just not the summer that was originally anticipated. Also interestingly enough, the movie is reportedly no longer going by the name “Dead Reckoning – Part 2.” The film will still be a direct continuation of the previous entry, it just looks to be going by the name, “Mission: Impossible 8” based off press reporting. Given the unusually low box office for “Dead Reckoning” this could be a way of distancing the upcoming project from the previous one. Given there’s a delay now too, it seems like this will help the installment stand on its own legs, without having as direct a tie-in to its predecessor.
If the strike continues for much longer, news like this is going to be more common place. Studios will delay films and try to find other movies they can shift around to fill the void. For example, “A Quiet Place: Day One” has been pushed out of March and onto June 28th, 2024 which would’ve been the premiere for “Mission Impossible: 8.” As more delays and shifts invariably happen, we’ll keep you posted. As for Ethan Hunt, at least crossing the picket line is a mission that seems legitimately impossible.
