Tom Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' director reveals ‘chaos’ on set

Tom Cruise’s newest "Mission: Impossible" movie was nearly an impossible mission itself, as the film's writer director Christopher McQuarrie told EW.

The first roadblock came as the film was about to go into production in Italy in February 2020, just as the country was being hit hardest with the COVID-19 pandemic and the world was shutting down.

"We were in Venice, Italy, two days away from shooting in February 2020," McQuarrie said. "We were at ground zero for the pandemic."

Once they were finally underway, filming around the world in countries like England, Dubai and Norway, they ran into another problem.

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Nicholas Hoult had been cast as the villain, but had to drop out due to commitments to his Hulu series, "The Great." He was replaced with Esai Morales.

McQUarrie noted the one of the film’s stars, franchise newcomer Hayley Atwell, "might have been on this movie for well over 100 days before she had her first dialog scene, owing to the chaotic nature of the production."

Even with all the "chaos", McQuarrie never doubted finishing the film, especially with Cruise on board.

"When you're making a movie with Tom, that's not really a factor," he told the outlet. "And on these movies, we like to say, 'Disaster is an opportunity to excel.' We lean into the chaos. We don't invite it, but we accept it as part of the process."

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McQuarrie directed previous installments in the series, 2015's "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" and 2018's "Mission: Impossible – Fallout," as well as serving as a producer on "Dead Reckoning." He also co-wrote last year’s Cruise mega-hit and Oscar nominee "Top Gun: Maverick."

The outlet noted that when they spoke with McQuarrie, he was already prepping "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two," due in theaters June 28, 2024.

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"This has been the most unbelievable adventure and the most unbelievable continuum between, in some state or another, working on ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Mission 7,’ and ‘Mission 8,’ all simultaneously," McQuarrie said. "'Top Gun' is now behind us, and we're in a place where ‘Mission 7’ is almost out in theaters, and it's so surreal to think that, in July, I will be working [on] one movie at a time. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself!"

McQuarrie also spoke about the action packed sequences and intense stunts in the film. 

As for Cruise's taking on dangerous stunts like riding a motorcycle off a cliff and base jumping into a ravine, the filmmaker said "It's par for the course." 

"It's what you learn to accept. It's what keeps the lights on!"

"Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One" is set to release in theater July 14 after a two-year delay from its original release date.