You may recall that the production for Mission: Impossible 6 was delayed because of a salary dispute with one Mr. Tom Cruise. The series star, who’s been front and center for every installment to date, reportedly wanted a bigger chunk of the film’s lucrative backend. The film, up to that point, was going to enter production in January. That’s after a November ’16 production start was shifted to tweak the script. So it’s been a bit of a bumpy road for Paramount and its Mission: Impossible franchise these last few months.

However, there’s now some good news to report, as Mission: Impossible 6 now has an official release date, which means that aforementioned issues have been resolved.

So when’s it coming out? The next Mission: Impossible is slated to come out on July 27, 2018.

There was once a time when Paramount toyed with the idea of the series moving on without Cruise after Mission: Impossible under-performed for the studio. It came out during the period of time when the Cruise brand was toxic thanks to bizarre appearances on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show, and weird tales of his Scientology beliefs crept out to make him seem like a less-than-stable individual, Paramount set up Mission: Impossible– Ghost Protocol to be a bit of a passing of the baton. They brought in Jeremy Renner with the hope that his character in the film could one day lead a Mission: Impossible movie. Ultimately, things stabilized for Cruise, and the series, as Ghost Protocol worked as a rebound for the franchise.

What’s interesting about the date Paramount has chosen for Mission: Impossible 6 is that it would put it in direct competition against Warner Bros. and their DC tentpole Aquaman. Stay tuned, as I’m about to share with you the latest scuttlebutt on what this could all mean.

SOURCE: Deadline