This past summer, the Mission: Impossible franchise resumed with the release of Dead Reckoning Part One, which hit theaters five years after its predecessor, Fallout. Dead Reckoning Part One’s ending laid some major groundwork for the next chapter of Ethan Hunt’s saga, and until today, Dead Reckoning Part Two was firmly planted on the 2024 movies calendar. However, it’s been revealed that not only has Mission: Impossible 8 been delayed yet again, we also can’t call it Dead Reckoning Part Two anymore.
Paramount Pictures has announced that it’s removed Mission: Impossible 8 from the June 28, 2024 slot and moved it to May 23, 2025. While that’s not quite a full year’s delay, it nonetheless means that audiences will have to wait until the next summer blockbuster season to catch it, with nearly two full years now passing between Part One and this next installment. Additionally, per THR, the eighth installment of this action franchise will no longer be called Dead Reckoning Part Two, and a new title will be unveiled at a later date.
Although it wasn’t disclosed why Mission: Impossible 8 will no longer be called Dead Reckoning Part Two, the reasoning behind the delay stems from the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which began on July 14, two days after Dead Reckoning Part One’s wide release. Mission: Impossible 8 had already shut down production so that Cruise and his costars could promote Dead Reckoning, but the strike means they still haven’t been able to resume work on the next movie. Since it’s unclear when cameras will start rolling again, Paramount is playing it safe by pushing the upcoming movie to 2025.
Despite the longer wait, THR mentioned in its article that Mission: Impossible 8 will still be shown on IMAX screens for a full three weeks, unlike Dead Reckoning, which had a shorter IMAX run after it had to vacate for Oppenheimer. As a result of this delay, Paramount has moved A Quiet Place: Day One from March 8, 2024 to Dead Reckoning’s old June 28 slot. Additionally, an untitled SpongeBob Squarepants movie has moved from May 23, 2025 to December 19, 2025, while conversely, the John Krasinski movie IF is now coming out on May 17, 2024, a week earlier than previously slated.
As with every Mission: Impossible movie since 2015’s Rogue Nation, Christopher McQuarrie is handling both writing and directing duties on Mission: Impossible 8. In addition to familiar faces like Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell and Esai Morales all returning, Mission: Impossible 8’s cast includes newcomers like Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman and Hannah Waddingham, as well as the return of Rolf Saxon as William Donloe, the unlucky analyst from the first movie.
We’ll pass along more concrete updates on what’s in store for Mission: Impossible 8 as they come in, including what its new title ends up being. Don’t forget that the first six Mission: Impossible movies can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription, and presumably Dead Reckoning will end up on the platform at some point in the near future.
