![](https://cdn.benzinga.com/files/imagecache/2048x1536xUP/images/story/2012/mi7_0.jpg)
ViacomCBS’s (NASDAQ:VIAC) Paramount Pictures has postponed the release of “Mission Impossible 7” for the fifth time, pushing the Tom Cruise-starring action film into a new release date of July 14, 2023.
What Happened: According to an IndieWire report, the new premiere date for “Mission Impossible 7” results in the follow-up “Mission Impossible 8” being delayed for release until June 28, 2024.
A Paramount Pictures spokesperson stated the decision came “after thoughtful consideration,” adding the new opening was “in response to delays due to the ongoing pandemic.”
“Mission Impossible 7” was produced in a stop-and-start manner throughout 2020 and into 2021 in multiple locations across Europe and the Middle East, with COVID-related interruptions halting work several times. The film was initially planned for release on July 23, 2021, and then for Nov. 19, 2021, but those dates were scrapped as production dragged on until last September.
The film’s release was pushed back into 2022, with debut dates being announced for May 27 and then for Sept. 30.
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What Else Happened: Paramount also announced changes to other films being, including a pair of popular franchises: “A Quiet Place 3” is being moved from March 31, 2023, to Sept. 22, 2023, while “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is moving from June 9, 2023, to July 19, 2024.
Also being moved is the superhero flick “Secret Headquarters,” from Aug. 12, 2022, to Aug. 5, 2022. “Blazing Samurai,” a computer-animated comedy, was given a July 22, 2022, opening after previously not been on the Paramount calendar, while another animated film, “Under the Boardwalk,” is being taken off the calendar after having been readied for a theatrical premiere on Sept. 22, 2022.
Photo: Tom Cruise is a publicity photo from "Mission Impossible 7," courtesy Paramount Pictures.