When Simon Pegg and company signed on to make two Mission: Impossible movies back-to back, they certainly knew they were in for a long shoot, but nobody had any idea just how long it would be. Due to the global pandemic, the filming of what we now know is called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One, was significantly delayed, and when it finally got underway, it was under new health and safety protocols. We learned during production that Tom Cruise took those protocols very seriously and Pegg is now speaking out about the response to Cruise’s rant as much as the statement itself.
During early production on what was then simply known as Mission: Impossible 7, audio of Tom Cruise on set was leaked that showed the actor getting fairly irate at some crew members who were apparently not following the required Covid protocols. Speaking with SiriusXM, Simon Pegg found the entire thing quite interesting, because the audio had likely been leaked by somebody trying to show Tom Cruise in a negative light, and it didn’t entirely have that result. Pegg explained…
Well, that was interesting because they released that audio as kind of like a fuck you to Tom. And actually everyone was going, ‘fair enough.’ He was sort of standing up for other people he’s employing. You know, he had a big old [sic], but basically what he was saying was correct. It was an interesting one.
While there certainly were voices critical of Tom Cruise for the way he addressed the issue, as a producer of the Mission: Impossible franchise, the crew technically works for him, there were also a lot of voices that spoke in support of Cruise. There has been a feeling since the beginning of the pandemic that too many people were not taking it seriously enough, and hearing that Cruise certainly was applauded by a not insignificant number of people. Cruise himself has never tried to distance himself from what he said.
Of course, the COVID protocols certainly took their toll on the production of the two Mission: Impossible movies. Filming on part seven was shutdown more than once due to positive tests on the set, and filming has simply gone much slower than we’re used to seeing due to need to quarantine while traveling between nations among other requirements. As a result, the first of the two Mission: Impossible movies basically took a year to film, and according to Simon Pegg, part eight is going to take just as long. He continues…
I’m a franchise whore. I’m not meaning to be. It just kind of happened. It is and it isn’t [a sweet gig]. You sign up for stuff, like with Mission: Impossible, we’ve been shooting that since September of 2020. Obviously the pandemic had a big effect on the shoot, but we’ve been soldiering on and it’s going to be amazing. We’re doing two, back-to-back. So now I’m on No. 8 until like October of next year. You’re kind of stuck with it and as fun as it sounds it can get a little tedious.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One is now set to open in just about one year, in July of 2023, while part two is now looking at a late June 2024 release. That first release date seems likely considering the first film is done shooting. With more delays certainly possible for the second, we’ll have to wait and see.