‘Top Gun’ Sequel Release Delayed Four Months, Until November

(Bloomberg) -- The Paramount Pictures action sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” will be released in November, four months later than expected, as the studio reshuffles its calendar.

The action movie, in which Tom Cruise continues the story started in the 1986 classic film, has been a victim of the pandemic. It was initially scheduled for release in 2019 but was delayed for production reasons, then pushed back again after the Covid-19 crisis forced movie theaters to close. It is now expected to come out on Nov. 19, when most U.S. and European theaters should be open again.

Paramount also rescheduled several other films, showcasing how difficult it is to recalibrate the calendar to accommodate a hard-to-predict pandemic. The studio moved “Mission: Impossible 7,” one of the first films to shut down production last year as the virus gripped Italy, to May 27, 2022, from its Nov. 19 opening date, and it shifted the G.I. Joe film “Snake Eyes” forward to July 23 from an October 2021 debut.

Unlike some of its competitors, ViacomCBS Inc.’s Paramount has opted against putting its major potential blockbusters on streaming the same day they come out in theaters. It has premiered some films on its Paramount+ service, such as “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” but for the most part has opted to wait out the pandemic rather than pivot to online audiences. “Top Gun” and “Mission: Impossible,” another Cruise franchise, are both expected to be major box-office draws.

The studio also delayed the eighth “Mission: Impossible” installment to July 2023 from Nov. 4 of next year, and “Jackass” will come out about a month later than anticipated, on Oct. 22. Further, Paramount announced an untitled Star Trek movie, which is expected for release in June 2023.

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