The premiere dates for two of Tom Cruise’s potential blockbuster films have been delayed due to COVID-19 concerns.
As the delta variant continues to spread, and with movie attendance an uncertainty, Paramount has pushed back the dates for "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Mission: Impossible 7," according to Deadline.
It was not a decision made lightly. Paramount first consulted with experts as well as their own global team before eventually choosing to move the release date of "Top Gun" to May 27, 2022, and "Mission Impossible" to Sept. 30, 2022, the outlet noted.
Both films have already suffered several blows due to the pandemic.
Production on "Mission Impossible" had to be stopped twice last year — once at the start of the pandemic and then again in October after several crew members tested positive for COVID-19. Then, earlier this year, filming was halted again following positive COVID-19 tests among crew members.
In efforts to curb the spread of the virus, Cruise has been trying to enforce strict safety protocols. Last year, he made headlines after infamously blowing up at colleagues for violating social distancing rules. In leaked audio, Cruise swears at the crew and then threatens to have them fired. Days later, several staffers quit after he had a second meltdown.
The "Top Gun" sequel has also been hard hit by the pandemic, which set its original December 2020 release back to July of this year and then even further, to Nov. 19, NPR noted.
Several other films have theatrical releases that have also been disrupted by the pandemic. Sony reportedly pushed back the release of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" from Nov. 11 to Nov. 19, while sequels to "Avatar," "Dune," and the "Matrix," will now be premiering at later dates as well.
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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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