The coronavirus hit on everything ranging from work to education. As things are gradually moving towards healing, Hollywood is all set to resume shooting with new safety guidelines. According to reports, the upcoming instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible 7, will start shooting outdoors in September as the production was earlier halted due to the pandemic. Mission: Impossible 7 is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and will star Tom Cruise, who reprises his role as Ethan Hunt.
“A September restart is the plan for the film. That will begin with the outdoor stuff. That feels fairly doable, and obviously there will be precautions put in place,” Actor Simon Pegg told Variety.
Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday following the publication of British Film Commission safety protocols, Tommy Gormley said he was convinced that the Tom Cruise franchise can get back to work again in the next three months and be wrapped by May 2021.
“We hope to start shooting again in September. We were days from shooting in Venice — we were right at the epicentre when it all kicked off — so we had to shut down in Venice where we were four or five days from shooting,” Gormley told BBC Radio 4’s program.
It’s unclear where the film would begin shooting as the Mission: Impossible franchise is known for utilizing multiple international locations for its action.
While several states have issued proposed guidelines for restarting production for various fields, there is still no consensus within the industry of what restrictions or safeguards will ultimately be imposed before production starts.
On Monday, a task force made up of members from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Teamsters submitted a 22-page document to California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The document contained points with recommended protocols on how to restart production while minimizing the spread of the virus.
“People that are involved in any close proximity stuff, it will have to be determined that they’re safe to do that. I don’t know what the testing situation is, how that works, or whether they’ll be able to be tested regularly,” said Pegg.