Mission: Impossible 6 May Delay Production 3 Months Following Cruise Injury

Mission: Impossible 6 may delayed production 3 months following Cruise injury

Following the revelation of Tom Cruise’s on-set injury earlier this week, Variety reports that the upcoming Mission: Impossible 6 could have extensive production delays ranging from six weeks to three months to allow the star to recover.

Cruise’s injuries were the result of a stunt gone wrong on the London set of the upcoming sequel. In the video released by TMZ, Cruise can be seen jumping from one building to another and apparently missing his mark, landing against the side of the building. Director Christopher McQuarrie, however, tells Empire that was meant to happen:

“The speculation was that Tom had somehow missed or fell short. The truth is that the stunt was never designed for Tom to jump from rooftop to rooftop which a) would have been pretty boring and b) when you see the actual shot you’ll understand how it was designed. Also, when you look at what was posted on the internet, you can see Tom do the same stunt multiple times. He was always supposed to slam into the side of the building. That’s what gives the stunt its energy. He was completely safe the entire time he was doing that. He was padded. What happened is a matter of coordinating what Tom is doing with what the camera is doing, which means you have to do it a number of times. And on the fourth try, he hit the building at a slightly different angle and he broke his ankle.”

Variety reports that the 55-year-old actor may have broken his ankle in two places and injured his hip.

The outlet notes that this delay in filming could be the first of several headaches as a result of the injury, including perhaps a delayed release for the sequel or even a delayed start for the long-gestating Top Gun sequel, which is scheduled to begin after M:I 6. It’s worth noting that the previous Mission: Impossible film was actually moved ahead six months on Paramount’s release schedule, so a delay for the sixth film may not be an issue for the studio.

It was previously reported that Henry Cavill’s commitment to Mission: Impossible 6 resulted in his partaking in Justice League reshoots with his contractually-agreed-upon facial hair for M:I 6. It remains to be seen, however, if Cavill can now shave of his mustache or if he must also keep it during the production break for the film.

Christopher McQuarrie, who previously helmed Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, is once again writing and directing the sequel which is currently set for a July 27, 2018 release.