Production on “Mission: Impossible 7” has temporarily shut down after at least one member tested positive for coronavirus.
Filming will pause for two weeks on the action film starring Tom Cruise. It’s unclear who or how many members of the crew tested positive.
“We have temporarily halted production on ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ until June 14th, due to positive coronavirus test results during routine testing. We are following all safety protocols and will continue to monitor the situation,” a spokesperson for Paramount Pictures told TheWrap.
Cruise erupted at the crew in December over a lapse in COVID-19 protocols, with The Sun obtaining explosive leaked audio of his rant.
“They are back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us, because they believe in us and what we’re doing,” Cruise shouted. “We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf—ers. I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever! And if you don’t do it, you’re fired, and I see you do it again, you’re f—ing gone.”
Cruise recently defended his comments by saying “I said what I said,” clarifying that he wasn’t directing it at the entire crew.
“There was a lot at stake at that point. But it wasn’t my entire crew. I had the crew leave the set and it was just select people,” Cruise said. “All those emotions were going through my mind. I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry.”
Production on the seventh “Mission: Impossible” film first shut down in February 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. It resumed this fall and has shot in Italy, Norway and most recently London.
Christopher McQuarrie, who directed the previous two movies in the franchise and is also directing “Mission: Impossible 8,” directs the sequel that’s slated for release on May 27, 2022. “Mission: Impossible 7” also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Cary Elwes and Angela Bassett.