But while movie delays are fairly common, Paramount Pictures’ decision to delay several of its movies is still somewhat surprising.
Which movies did Paramount delay to 2022?
As per Deadline, Paramount Pictures has decided to delay a chunk of its upcoming slate of movies. Namely, Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible 7, and Jackass Forever. The original plan was for the Top Gun sequel to premiere on November 19 later this year, which would make sense after all the positive reviews the film received at CinemaCon 2021. Unfortunately, Paramount’s decision to ground it means that the film is now set to premiere on May 27, 2022. As for Paramount’s other Tom Cruise-led feature film, Mission: Impossible 7, the next Ethan Hunt adventure has been moved from its original May 27, 2022 premiere date to September 30, 2022. Because there is a lot at stake for both Mission: Impossible 7 and Top Gun: Maverick, we don’t blame Paramount for their decision. What does come off as a surprise is for the studio to push back the launch of Jackass Forever, which would’ve premiered on October 22. Because the film is now slated for February 4, 2022, we wouldn’t rule out Paramount delaying Scream 5 from its original January 14, 2022 slot as well. For a film about flying high and fast, Top Gun: Maverick has been slow to take off. Tom Cruise’s long-awaited return to his former role as pilot genius Pete Mitchell has been delayed multiple times over the past few years. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick was plagued by an ever-shifting release schedule. At this point, we wouldn’t be surprised if Paramount delays it again come May 2022. Speaking of delays, it will be interesting to see if moving Mission: Impossible 7 to fall 2022 will affect Mission: Impossible 8. Our bet is on Paramount delaying the eighth Mission: Impossible film as well so that enough time will pass between the release of both films.
Are other studios going to follow Paramount’s lead?
At this stage, it appears that Paramount is the only studio to have taken such extreme measures, delaying several of the films it had already lined up for the next few months. On the other hand, Sony just “confirmed” the October 15 release date for Venom: Let There Be Carnage with a brand-new poster. Meanwhile, Disney and the MCU continue to stick to their original schedule, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings scheduled for September 3 followed by the Eternals on November 5.
