The bar continues to raise for what missions are impossible to complete. With Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One releasing this summer, series lead Tom Cruise is already on the hunt for filming locations for Part Two. The only problem is some polar bears have made filming in his first choice of Svalbard mission impossible.
The Mission Impossible franchise has seven entries in it now with Dead Reckoning Part One, which releases in theaters on July 14 in the U.S. Part Two is scheduled to release on June 28, 2024. Initially, back in 2019, Cruise had plans to shoot each film back to back but in 2021 Paramount did not intend on following this particular plan. Cruise ran into another hitch when looking to film in Svalbard. Here’s what happened.
Tom Cruise is trying to get helicopters in Svalbard ‘Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two’
Principal photography for Part Two began in March 2022, according to reporting by Collider. Filming locations included the United Kingdom, Malta, South Africa and Norway. While filming in the U.K., which took the crew to the famously scenic Lake District, has wrapped up, there are shots further up north Cruise may not get.
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Cruise had his eyes set on Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago that rests between Norway and the North Pole. It is protected and hosts flora and fauna that has carefully adapted to the prolonged stretches of midnight sun and polar night. Because of Svalbard’s unique setup and rules, Cruise is having a hard time getting approval to film there.
Progress and standstill in Svalbard
There’s been a bit of back-and-forth between the relevant crew teams tied to Dead Reckoning – Part Two and the Svalbard government. On the one hand, public broadcaster NRK said that filming some scenes took place in Svalbard recently. However, the government has reportedly denied PolarX permits for some 40 helicopter landings at various sites. Crews have still been stationed nearby and the vessel PolarXplorer was docked in Longyearbyen.
Cruise had also been spotted around Longyearbyen and said “It’s wonderful to be here.” Local authorities denied the permits based on the concern that the helicopter presence would disrupt local wildlife. While PolarX did not get into specifics – citing NDAs – it did indicate that a resolution had been reached. According to a letter from PolarX, “the production has continuously worked on alternative solutions,” meaning progress was still being made through this exchange.
