Despite countless delays and pandemic-related setbacks, Mission: Impossible 7 has wrapped filming.
The production has been one of the hardest hit by Covid-19, with filming, which took place at locations around the world including Italy, the UK and Abu Dhabi, having to be paused many times in the wake of new restrictions and coronavirus cases among the cast and crew.
However, with filming finally ending after more than 18 months, director Christopher McQuarrie shared a heartfelt message.
“All you need is good people,” wrote McQuarrie on Instagram, alongside a picture of himself and the film’s main star Tom Cruise. “To our indomitable, unstoppable, unrelenting cast and crew: even under the best of circumstances, it should have been impossible. Even having seen it, we can’t believe what you’ve achieved. Words can never adequately express our gratitude and admiration – not only to you, but to your loved ones. You are the best in the world.”
Mission: Impossible 7 was partly filmed in the UAE, with Louvre Abu Dhabi and the capital’s desert among locations.
McQuarrie praised Abu Dhabi for its hospitality after filming wrapped in the capital in February.
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well," McQuarrie, quoting French poet Antoine de Saint-Exupery, wrote on Instagram, alongside a behind-the-camera shot taken during filming in the emirate's dunes.
"Grace and graciousness, magic and majesty, hospitality and hope. Of the many challenges we’ve faced on our journey, none will be greater than outshining the gifts Abu Dhabi has given us.
"Thanks to our extraordinary local cast, crew and the very fine people of Abu Dhabi. We shall most sincerely miss you until we see you again."
Cruise, who will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in the seventh instalment of the action franchise, famously went on a huge rant at crew members during filming in London, as he believed they were not taking Covid-19 restrictions seriously.
In leaked audio footage, Cruise was heard saying: "We want the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us! Because they believe in us and what we’re doing."
He later addressed the rant in an interview with Empire magazine, saying: “I said what I said.”
A surge in Covid-19 cases in the UK in December was the trigger for his frustration, he said, and that the outburst was not aimed at the whole crew but certain members of the team.
“There was a lot at stake at that point. But it wasn’t my entire crew. I had the crew leave the set and it was just select people,” he said.
The actor said that when production was able to reopen, “all those emotions were going through my mind”.
“I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry,” he said. “And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief. It was very emotional, I gotta tell you.”
Despite the conclusion of filming, the film's release date was pushed back again earlier this month. It is now set to hit cinemas on Friday, September 30, 2022.
