Tom Cruise to miss his date at the theatres in 2021, 'Top Gun' and MI7 pushed to 2022

For Tom Cruise fans, the wait to see him on the big screen has just become longer. The superstar's big-ticket films 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Mission: Impossible 7' will not be hitting theatres anytime soon. 

Reports suggest that Paramount Pictures has postponed the release of the two films until 2022. Now, 'Top Gun: Maverick' will release in May 2022 and 'Mission: Impossible 7' will hit theatres in September 2022. 

The decision has been taken in view of the rise in COVID-19 infection across the US. 

The 'Top Gun' sequel, which has been delayed multiple times during the pandemic, had been set to debut in theaters on November 19, just ahead of Thanksgiving, to kick off the holiday moviegoing season.

'Top Gun' will now debut on May 27, the date that "M:I 7" had been set to light up screens over next year`s Memorial Day weekend. That forced a shift for "M:I 7," which was moved to Sept. 30, 2022.

While cinema halls opened up earlier this year across US and UK, studios have still be cautious of announcing the release date of films amid the pandemic. The new Delta variant of the coronavirus has disrupted a hope for viewers to come back to theatres. 

Theater chains, including AMC Entertainment, Cineworld Plc and Cinemark Holdings, are counting on blockbusters such as 'Top Gun' to help lure audiences back. The movie is a follow-up to the 1986 hit starring Cruise as an elite US Navy fighter pilot.

While Paramount has decided to move the release of their big budget films to next year, others are sticking to their 2021 release date. James Bond movie 'No Time To Die' is scheduled to release in cinemas later this month and studio MGM has insisted that the date woll stick. 

Other upcoming films include Sony`s 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' in October, Marvel`s 'Eternals' in November and 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' in December.