' Top Gun: Maverick', 'Mission: Impossible 7' postponed amid surge in Covid-19 cases

Both films feature Tom Cruise in the lead

Studio Paramount Pictures has decided to push back the release of two of its most anticipated titles Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7, both headlined by Hollywood star Tom Cruise, given the current conditions of the coronavirus pandemic and its Delta variant around the world.

According to a report in Deadline, the film studio went ahead with the calendar shuffle after they consulted with experts and their own global team.

The development comes days after the studio successfully launched the clips and footage of the two films at CinemaCon 2021.

Top Gun: Maverick will now be released on May 27, 2022, the Memorial Day weekend. The long-awaited sequel of the 1986 hit action drama was earlier scheduled on the pre-Thanksgiving weekend of November 19, 2021.

Mission: Impossible 7, which was supposed to be released on the Memorial Day weekend next year, will now premiere on September 30, 2022.

Co-produced with Skydance, these two films are part of big potential billion dollar grossing franchises which require a free run at the theatres, something which is not possible as cases continue to surge across the globe.

Recently, Paramount moved Clifford The Big Red Dog out of the release line-up later this year and will re-date some time in the future.

In addition, the studio's Jackass Forever will open on February 4, 2022 instead of October 22 this year.

Paramount will next release their first big feature the reboot of "Scream", produced by Spyglass Dimension, on January 14, 2022, leaving the rest of 2021 without any releases.