Mission: Impossible delays

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The UK Premiere of 'Mission: Impossible – Fallout' held at the BFI IMAX - Arrivals
Photo: Mario Mitsis/WENN.com

Simon Pegg fears production on Mission: Impossible 7 won't restart for a while yet, despite rumors Tom Cruise is pulling out all the stops in a bid to resume filming.

Cruise reportedly flew into the U.K. earlier this month (Jun20), amid rumors he and director Christopher McQuarrie were planning to resume shooting on the movie in a Covid-19-proof bubble at a Royal Air Force (RAF) site in Oxfordshire, England.

However, according to British newspaper The Observer, Pegg texted McQuarrie and was told rumors shooting is set to get underway at the air base aren't true - and that producers may have to resort to CGI techniques, conduct mass testing or even postpone a full shoot until a vaccine arrives.

"On The Mandalorian, the Star Wars TV show, they do it all on a sound stage, using technology that Jon Favreau pioneered when he did The Jungle Book," Simon says. "It's incredible, because it really does look like on location, so I suppose there's that way. Or we have to do testing, or wait for a vaccine..."

The star reportedly predicts that big exterior sequences that can be shot while abiding by social distancing measures could be first to be filmed. Despite rumors a return to the set is imminent, Tommy Gormley, first assistant director, has given September as a provisional restart date.

During lockdown, Simon has instead been working on writing a new TV series with ex-Kula Shaker rocker Crispian Mills.

"I had the focus that I just never usually have for writing," he says of penning the mysterious new show. "It was like, get up in the morning, have a little workout, and then write for the whole day. I loved it. The writing was like a tap, I couldn't turn it off. Not a chore, but fun."

Mission: Impossible 7 is currently due for release in November 2021.