Tom Cruise was forced to halt filming for "Mission Impossible 8" when a flock of sheep invaded the set in England’s Lake District on Wednesday.
The animals were seen heading into the filming area, where they then stopped to chew on grass, resulting in production for the highly anticipated action film being briefly halted, Page Six reported.
Cruise took it in stride and was even spotted laughing and moving out of the way so that the sheep could pass through, the outlet noted.
Cruise has been filming scenes for the eighth installment of the film franchise, in which he plays Ethan Hunt, since July and has been seen performing nail-biting stunts including jumping off a mountain and paragliding.
A trailer for the seventh film dropped earlier this year and while plot details were vague, explosive action and breathtaking stunts were abundant. Fans were offered the first glimpse into the film at CinemaCon in April.
Introducing the trailer was Cruise, who appeared in a video message in which he revealed the film's official title. The star said he could not attend the film's presentation at the Las Vegas event because he was filming overseas.
"Wish I could be there with you," he said in the video while seated in an antique plane, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter. "I’m sorry for the extra noise. As you can see, we are filming the latest installment of 'Mission: Impossible.'"
Filming for both films has been delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production on the seventh installment of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise had to be stopped twice in 2020: Once at the start of the pandemic and again in October after several crew members tested positive for COVID-19. This year, again filming was halted after positive COVID-19 tests among crew members.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance previously announced that "Mission: Impossible 7" will now premiere July 14, 2023 while "Mission: Impossible 8," which was previously set for July 2023, will open June 8, 2024, according to Fox News.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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