Shea Whigham has backed a full-length cinema release for Mission: Impossible 7, amid reports that Paramount Pictures are considering sending it to streaming after a mere 45 days.
The actor, known for his recent roles in Gaslit and F9: The Fast Saga, boards the franchise for its seventh and eighth instalments, where he is set to play Jasper Briggs – a mysterious figure tracking Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise).
Set for release next summer, the next film in the series has been a topic of great interest among fans, owing to its ambitious stunts, considerable delays and ballooning budget, which is now pegged to be in the region of $290 million.
In March 2022, The Hollywood Reporter reported Cruise and the studio are currently in a dispute over whether the film should have a full 90-day cinema release, or a half-sized run before landing on fledgling streamer Paramount Plus.
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Whigham has come out on Cruise’s side of the debate, arguing that the spectacle of the film demands to be seen on the largest screen possible.
“I’m with Tom and [director Christopher] McQuarrie on that,” he said. “I love to see a three-month run. I’ve seen a little bit of 7, McQuarrie showed me some of that, and it is incredible stuff. What I’ve seen is incredible.”
Whigham continued: “Sometimes you get lucky. These guys are cinephiles, they know cinema and they appreciate it. And so it’s not just a big action film, it’s also character-based.
“They’ve given me a character, Jasper Briggs… you’ll see, over the course of 7 and 8, why I’m trying to track Ethan Hunt. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever got a chance to be a part of.”
The actor went on to praise co-star Cruise for his strong leadership, which allowed Mission: Impossible 7 to resume filming quickly amid the unpredictable early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were the canary in the coal mine at the beginning,” he said. “We were supposed to be in Venice the day that everybody had to get out of Venice, and so we had to pack up and leave.
“When you have someone like Tom, he figures these things out..We needed that at the time; we needed somebody like Tom Cruise to lead us because there’s no playbook for how to do a film in a pandemic. He’s an amazing leader, he really is.”
Whigham added: “That’s why these films, they get better, I think. And not just me – I think Tom and Chris say the same thing, they’ve gotten better with each one. You know, they don’t give an inch, they don’t take a second off and that’s why they’re so good.”
Mission: Impossible 7 was recently given the subtitle Dead Reckoning – Part 1 and, along with the confirmed eighth movie, is said to be a “send-off” for Tom Cruise’s IMF super-spy.
