Paramount has set release dates for the seventh and eighth installments of the “Mission: Impossible” series. The still-untitled “Mission: Impossible” 7 will hit theaters July 23, 2021, with part 8 coming just over a year later, on Aug. 5, 2022.
The news comes just two weeks after the announcement that Christopher McQuarrie will return to write and direct the next two films in the Tom Cruise-starring action series. McQuarrie wrote and directed 2015’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” and last year’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” which, globally earned $682 million and nearly $800 million, respectively.
“We couldn’t be more excited to build on the massive success of Mission:Impossible–Fallout by reteaming with Chris and Tom on these next two films, following two successful collaborations,” Paramount chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos said in a statement. “We’ve also enjoyed a great partnership with Skydance and David Ellison on these three most recent films and look forward to continued success together on this great franchise.”
The films are expected to shoot back-to-back to capitalize on the success of “Fallout,” the highest-earning installment of the franchise that launched in 1996. McQuarrie and Cruise have worked together on a number of other projects the filmmaker either wrote or directed, including “The Mummy,” “Jack Reacher,” “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Valkyrie.”