ENTERTAINMENT

Next 'Mission: Impossible' movies delayed to 2023, 2024

Published Saturday, January 22, 2022 7:49AM EST

Actor Tom Cruise wears a face mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as he greets fans during a break from shooting Mission Impossible 7, along Rome's Fori Imperiali avenue, with the ancient Colosseum in the background, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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NEW YORK -- It will be another year before a new "Mission: Impossible" movie hits theaters.

Paramount Pictures and Skydance announced Friday that the release of "Mission: Impossible 7" will be pushed from Sept. 20 to July 14, 2023. "Mission: Impossible 8," previously set for July 2023, will instead open June 28, 2024.

It's the latest setback for a pair of blockbusters that have been much-delayed by the pandemic. Shooting on "Mission: Impossible 7" was put on hiatus in early 2020 because of COVID-19. After filming resumed in the summer of 2020, principal photography ultimately concluded by September 2021.

Paramount and Skydance attributed the postponements to pandemic-related delays.

"After thoughtful consideration, Paramount Pictures and Skydance have decided to postpone the release dates for Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 in response to delays due to the ongoing pandemic," said the film companies in a joint statement.