Mission Impossible 7 Villain Role Replaced By DC Actor

With the COVID-19 pandemic halting production across Hollywood, it's not surprising there will be scheduling issues when movies start shooting again. Mad Max: Fury Road and X-Men star Nicolas Hoult was playing a villainous role in the next Mission Impossible movie, but it's now been reported that he's been replaced by Titans star Esai Morales.

According to Deadline, Hoult had to step down for the role in Mission impossible 7 because of an expected overlap with the production of Season 2 of the Hulu show The Great. Morales will take on the role instead, although specific details about the character are currently unknown. Morales is known for a wide variety of roles over the years. Most recently he played Deathstroke in Season 2 of the DC show Titans, and also appeared in Ozark, NCIS: Los Angeles, NYPD Blue, and Caprica.

Mission Impossible 7 and 8 are being shot back-to-back, but it's unknown when production will resume. The movies were set to arrive in July 2021 and August 2022, but have been delayed to November 2021 and November 2022 respectively.

Both films are being directed by Christoher McQuarrie, who also helmed Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Mission Impossible: Fallout. Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson and Simon Pegg are set to return, with Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Shea Whigham joining the series for the first time. In addition, Henry Czerny will return as Eugene Kittridge, a role he last played in the original 1996 movie.

For more, check out GameSpot's guide to the biggest upcoming movies of 2020 and beyond.