Tom Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible 7' Halts Production in Italy Due to Coronavirus

Tom Cruise
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The action star was not in Italy when filming was put on hold.

Tom Cruise may scale skyscrapers and cling to airplanes for the Mission: Impossible films, but the franchise is not taking a chance on the real-life coronavirus

A spokesperson from Paramount Pictures tells ET that filming on Mission: Impossible 7 has been put on hold in Italy. 

"Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7," the statement reads. "During this hiatus, we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves."

On Tuesday, civil protection officials in Italy announced that the number of people infected in the country with the coronavirus that came over from China had increased 45 percent and the number of deaths was up to 10, CBS News reports. Officials say there are 322 confirmed cases of the virus, which is 100 more than was reported on Monday.

While there were reports that Cruise was stuck in his Italian hotel room, ET has learned that the actor was not in Italy at the time of filming the highly anticipated sequel.

In January 2019, director Christopher McQuarrie signed on to helm two new installments in the Mission: Impossible franchise, with the high-octane thrillers expected to hit theaters in the summers of 2021 and 2022.

Cruise, who has starred as super spy Ethan Hunt in every one of the six films in the franchise so far, then confirmed the news that more Mission: Impossible adventures were on the way.

Here's more of Cruise talking about the wildly popular films!

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