History of Mission Impossible Timeline

During pre-production in late 2019, the Swiss government refused to authorize any explosions for the train sequence in the Alps, prompting location scouting in other countries for an unwanted railway bridge.

In November 2019, the Polish State Railways proposed using a 151-meter-long, 1908 German-era riveted truss bridge on Lake Pilchowickie in the Jelenia Góra Valley, Lower Silesia.

In December 2019, Paramount Pictures producers including Christopher McQuarrie landed in southern Poland, accompanied in deep secrecy by officers of the Polish engineering troops. The bridge had officially opened in 1912 by Wilhelm II, survived World War II mostly intact, and was used by trains until 2016.

Under the working title Libra, filming was scheduled to begin on February 20, 2020, in Venice for three weeks before moving to Rome, but the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy halted production in the country.

In March 2020, local authorities and museum officials were appalled by plans to physically destroy the Lake Pilchowickie bridge instead of using CGI. By July 2020, enthusiasts, scientists, filmmakers, and heritage organizations protested. In August 2020, McQuarrie said there was never a plan to blow up the bridge, adding 'there was no disrespect intended.'

In early May 2020, Lorne Balfe was confirmed to be returning to compose the score for the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible films, having previously scored Fallout (2018).

On July 6, 2020, after another hiatus due to COVID-19, crew arriving in the UK were permitted to begin filming without going through the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

On October 26, 2020, production was suspended in Italy after 12 people tested positive for COVID-19 on set.

In December 2020, during filming in London, an audio recording of Tom Cruise shouting at two crew members for not following COVID-19 protocols was released online. Cruise was likened to his Les Grossman character from Tropic Thunder (2008).

On December 28, 2020, Variety reported that the film would conclude principal photography at Longcross Film Studios in the United Kingdom, with production shifting from Warner Bros.

Filming for the parachute and speed flying sequence took place in the Lake District over the Buttermere Valley across the summers of 2021 and 2022.

From April 20, 2021, filming took place in Levisham, North Yorkshire, at North Yorkshire Moors Railway, for a sequence set in the Austrian Alps featuring a train speeding toward a blown-up bridge, referencing the climactic train wreck in The General (1926).

In May 2021, Eksner sued the Paramount production crew including McQuarrie and Cruise for breach of contract related to the Lake Pilchowickie bridge project.

In August 2021, filming commenced at Birmingham's Grand Central shopping centre, with Cruise and Hayley Atwell spotted by onlookers.

In September 2021, the film's gaffer Martin Smith confirmed on Instagram that principal photography had officially wrapped, with locations including Norway, the UK, the UAE, and Italy.

A trailer debuted exclusively at CinemaCon on April 28, 2022, including an introduction by Cruise filmed while flying a biplane. Balfe's music from the teaser was digitally released as a single on June 23, 2022.

The trailer was leaked to social media on May 21, 2022, and was officially released online on May 23, 2022. The CinemaCon introduction was officially released on September 8, 2022.

A behind-the-scenes look at the film debuted ahead of IMAX screenings of Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), with the full preview released online four days later on December 19, 2022.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One premiered at the Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome on June 19, 2023.

The film debuted to $54.7 million in its opening weekend and $78.5 million over five days, just behind Mission: Impossible 2's $78.8 million in 2000. Though it received acclaim and grossed $571.1 million worldwide, it was considered a box-office disappointment relative to its budget, ending its run as the second-lowest-grossing installment domestically behind only Mission: Impossible III.

After premiering in Sydney on July 3, 2023, the film was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on July 12, 2023, with special Early Access Fan Event screenings held on July 10.

The film was released for digital download on October 10, 2023, while Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD versions were released on October 31, 2023.

The film began streaming on Paramount+ on January 25, 2024, with 'Part One' removed from the title after the sequel abandoned its original title.

In June 2025, IndieWire named Dead Reckoning the 60th-best film of the decade so far, and The Hollywood Reporter listed it as having the best stunts of 2023.

A direct sequel, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, was released on May 23, 2025, after being delayed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, concluding the story begun in Dead Reckoning.