“Mission: Impossible 8” delayed nearly a year as actors' strike wears on

Ethan Hunt has taken on a lot of impossible missions over the last three decades, but even he is powerless against a union strike.

Paramount has announced that the eighth Mission: Impossible film has been delayed from June 28, 2024 to May 23, 2025 due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

Previously titled Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two, Paramount has stripped the film of its ungainly subtitle, though it will still serve as a direct sequel to this year's Dead Reckoning Part One.

Christian Black/Paramount Pictures and Skydance Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'

That film, from consistent hitmaker Tom Cruise, surprisingly underperformed, grossing $172.1 million at the domestic box office, and $567.5 million worldwide, against a budget of $291 million. By its fourth week of release, Dead Reckoning Part One had fallen out of the top five at the box office, making its title longer than its theatrical run. So a year delay will surely only help the aging franchise.

But M:I8 isn't the only franchise film that's run into delays. A Quiet Place: Day One, a spinoff prequel and the third film in the franchise, has been delayed from March 8, 2024 to June 28, 2024, while an untitled Spongebob Squarepants film moved from May 23, 2024 to Dec. 19, 2024.

However, Imaginary Friends or IF, from A Quiet Place director John Krasinski and with an all-star cast including starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Steve Carrell — actually moved up a week. It will now be released on May 17 instead of May 24 of next year.

As for the strike, the actors' union marked the 100th day of the work stoppage over the weekend with intentions to return to the bargaining table with the AMPTP on Tuesday.

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