Tom Cruise cancels summer date at the cinemas with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ delayed again

Fans who were hoping to get the summer action back on track at the cinemas will be disappointed to learn that one of the biggest films to release has been postponed yet again.

Tom Cruise’s much-awaited ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, which was scheduled to drop on July 2 and cash in on the US Independence Day weekend rush, has now been pushed to November 19, according to Deadline.

The Paramount/Skydance release has now locked in on the date that was also occupied by Cruise and his Abu Dhabi shot action film, ‘Mission: Impossible 7’, which in turn will now release next summer, on May 27, 2022, thus pushing the release of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ to March 3, 2023.

Meanwhile, ‘Mission: Impossible 8’, which was also extensively filmed in the UAE capital, will now get a July 7, 2023 releases, instead of November 4, 2022.

The sequel to the 1986 hit ‘Top Gun’ was initially scheduled to release on June 24 last year, which was later pushed to December 23 on account of the coronavirus pandemic. The Joseph Kosinski directorial later was pushed to 2021 summer before this most recent delay.

Released in 1986, ‘Top Gun’ was apparently inspired by a magazine article on Navy pilots. The film followed the life of a fighter pilot and launched Cruise’s career as a global action star. The sequel picks up decades after the 1986 box office hit. It also features Miles Teller as the son of Goose, Maverick’s partner who died in the original film.

Following the pandemic delays and stalled shoots, the domino effect also messed up with the next two installments in Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, which ultimately moved its shoot to Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, the summer isn’t entirely lost for movie fans. Deadline reports that Universal has slotted Blumhouse’s ‘The Forever Purge’ for a July 2 now.