Tom Cruise Action Movie Sequel Releases Delayed By Paramount

Tom Cruise Action Sequels Pushed Back

The release dates for Tom Cruise‘s upcoming action sequels, Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7, have been delayed by Paramount again due to concerns regarding the delta variant.

The sequel to Top Gun has been a long time in the making. Since 1986, we’ve been waiting to see the return of Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” character. Unfortunately, Paramount has deemed releasing the film in time for its promised November 19th theatrical release this year would be riding in the “danger zone” given the high rise in cases of the delta variant. They have thus shifted the date to May 27, 2022. In a twist of events, Sony moved up their high profile release, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, to the same date Paramount gave up. Meanwhile, retailers who have gotten Top Gun: Maverick merchandise to sell may want to put those items away until next year.

Paramount also deemed it “impossible” to release Tom Cruise’s other tentpole, Mission: Impossible 7, on time as well. That seventh installment in the franchise was originally scheduled to be released on the May 27, 2022 date that Top Gun: Maverick just took over. It is now slated to unveil itself in theaters on September 30, 2022.

Just so Tom Cruise doesn’t take it personally, there was one other move Paramount just made. Jackass Forever, the wild hijinks comedy, has left its October 22, 2021 release date for a February 4, 2022 unveiling instead.

Tom Cruise fans are disappointed at the news as Top Gun: Maverick was supposed to premiere originally in 2020 until COVID-19 put a major dent in those plans. This sequel has a top flight cast that includes Val Kilmer, heartthrob Miles Teller and sex symbol Jennifer Connelly with old pros Ed Harris and Jon Hamm on board as well. It is one of the most eagerly awaited movies of all-time coming some 35 years after the original picture cleaned up at the box-office with $180 million domestically which in 1986 was really huge. It earned a straight “A” CinemaScore grade.

The seventh Mission: Impossible picture’s delay is a much more understandable situation for Cruise fans but still came as a surprise to many. The sixth entry in the series opened not too long ago in 2018 but with an “A” CinemaScore grade, fans are nevertheless quite antsy to see what’s coming next in this franchise. With a $220 domestic box-office tally, that sixth movie, which was called Mission: Impossible-Fallout, was the franchise in top form.

It had been reported that problems arose on the set of the latest film in the Mission: Impossible series. These issues had resulted in crew members quitting after supposedly being yelled at by Cruise for their violations of movie set protocol regarding keeping safe in COVID-19 times.

If moviegoers can be patient just a little while longer, they’ll get to see Cruise’s long awaited sequels on the big screen where Paramount needs them to be successful in order to turn a decent profit considering their enormous budgets. Getting them on the big screen isn’t impossible but it will be a mission that hopefully the new release dates will accommodate accordingly.

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