Paramount boss says early Mission: Impossible 7 cut is too long but a "complete thrill ride"

Paramount Global president Bob Bakish has given his early verdict on Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One.

During the Paramount panel at this year’s Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, & Telecom Conference (H/T IndieWire), Bakish said, "I haven’t seen all of Mission: Impossible 7, but I’ve seen a bunch of it. We actually just did the first test screening for an audience last week, and the audience lost their mind. And it’s still too long, they’ve got to cut it. But the movie is insane. It’s like a complete thrill ride. And [Tom Cruise], he’s very good."

Dead Reckoning Part One, starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Hayley Atwell, was originally reported as a sendoff to Cruise’s ex-IMF agent Ethan Hunt alongside 2024’s Dead Reckoning Part Two.

Speaking on the Light the Fuse podcast last year, Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie was keen to play down any talk of Cruise retiring the role.

"I've been working with Tom Cruise for 15 years and I cannot tell you the number of times I've been standing next to the man, witnessed an event and then read about it in the trades the next day and none of what they describe is actually true," McQuarrie said.

If nothing else, Cruise is showing no signs of slowing down: an early look at the film has showcased more of the actor’s stunt work, while he also recently thanked fans for heading to the cinema – before jumping out of a helicopter.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One is set to hit cinemas on July 14, 2023. For more on what else is coming our way, check out our guide to movie release dates.