'Mission: Impossible 6' news: Tom Cruise's pay demands reportedly halt preproduction
Production on the next installment in the highly lucrative "Mission: Impossible" action film franchise has reportedly come to a standstill.
According to reports from various outlets, a possible dispute between original franchise star Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures seems to be the cause behind the production grinding to a halt.
While the reports remain unconfirmed, Deadline reports about the theories that may have taken place. One theory for the cause of the interruption is that Paramount is asking Cruise and production companies Bad Robot and Skydance to cut their fees in a bid to lower the overall budget needed for the film.
A second theory is that Cruise wants the studio to match the fee he is getting from Universal Studios' major remake of "The Mummy." But Paramount reportedly has not agreed to do this and would rather keep Cruise on the same salary he got for "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" (2015), the last "Mission: Impossible" film.
Paramount had already begun preproduction for "Mission: Impossible 6," with 15 to 20 people already working on the film. However, these workers were recently advised to stop all work immediately.
The studio, which is co-financing the next "Mission: Impossible" film with Skydance, had been aiming to start production on "Mission: Impossible 6" in January 2017.
The highly successful film series which launched in 1996 has raked in a lot of money for Paramount. As such, the studio reportedly does not want to put the franchise's future at risk. However, it also wants to settle the dispute first before work on the film resumes. According to Deadline, Cruise receives his salary upfront.
Christopher McQuarrie, who directed "Rogue Nation," wrote the script for "Mission: Impossible 6." He reportedly worked on the film's outline with Cruise and has begun writing the screenplay.
With McQuarrie busy working on the script, Cruise and Paramount have time to iron out the salary issue.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is the second bump in the road for "Mission: Impossible 6." The project reportedly almost fell apart due to issues with the script in July. Because of this first hiccup, the film's initial November production start was pushed to 2017.
"Mission: Impossible 6" was initially slated for a late 2017 premiere, but due to the roadblocks the production has experienced, it is currently without a release date.