The fall film slate is getting scrambled… again. More than a year after mass movie theater closures effectively wiped out major releases, two blockbusters are being pushed back once more: Tom Cruise action tentpoles Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7 have been postponed amidst the Delta variant surge, Deadline reported on Wednesday.
Top Gun: Maverick, originally slated for December 2020, has been moved to May 27, 2022, after originally being bumped to Nov. 19, 2021. Mission: Impossible 7 has also been bumped from its Memorial Day weekend 2022 spot to Sept. 30, 2022. These shifts come after both movies were previewed at CinemaCon in Las Vegas just days ago. Some may remember that production on MI5 was delayed in June when at least one production member tested positive for COVID-19, Cruise’s viral on-set tirade be damned.
Those aren’t the only new release schedule shake-ups. In addition to stalling their Cruise titles, Paramount Studios announced that Jackass Forever will bow on Feb. 4, 2022 instead of Oct. 22, 2021. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters: Afterlife will debut in Top Gun’s Nov. 19 slot instead of Nov. 11, Sony announced moments after that film moved.
Assuming these new dates stay set, both Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7 are entering a crowded summer at the multiplex. Hollywood is hoping that the moviegoing public wll return in larger droves next year, with several films already contending for audiences. In the weeks surrounding Top Gun’s new date, Thor: Love and Thunder debuts May 6; Jurassic World: Dominion drops June 10; and John Wick: Chapter 4 bows the very same day on May 27. As for MI5, it’s sandwiched between Super Mario Bros on Sept. 16 and the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel on Oct. 7.
As Delta cases spike, filmgoers should expect more modifications to come. There have already been long-haul delays for the likes of No Time to Die and Dune, both of which could still be moved from their currently planned October slots. Rumors have also swirled that Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage may shift away from its Oct. 15 release date—one of many films contemplating a change.
— Unhappy Little Trees: The Dark Legacy of Bob Ross
— The True Story of a Hollywood Partnership Built and Destroyed by Money, Sex, and Celebrity
— Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent on Why the Show Isn’t “Warm and Fuzzy”
— Caftans, Goyard, and Elvis: Inside The White Lotus’s Costumes
— The Chair Is Like an Academic Game of Thrones
— The Best Movies and Shows Streaming on Netflix This Month
— Rachael Leigh Cook on Reclaiming She’s All That
— Watch Kristen Stewart Channel Princess Di in Spencer’s Official Trailer
— From the Archive: Jeffrey Epstein and Hollywood’s Omnipresent Publicist
— Sign up for the “HWD Daily” newsletter for must-read industry and awards coverage—plus a special weekly edition of “Awards Insider.”