Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7 have been delayed as cases of COVID-19 continue to surge.

The highly-anticipated sequel, which sees Tom Cruise reprise his role as Maverick, will now release in cinemas on May 27, 2022, instead of November 19, 2021.

Mission: Impossible 7 has been pushed back to September 30, 2022, four months after its original slated release on May 27, 2022. Paramount has also delayed Jackass Forever from October 22, 2021, to February 4, 2022.

This delay follows concerns around rising cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus in the US, as cinema releases underperform at the box office.

Paramount has already shifted some of its release strategy towards its streaming service Paramount+ due to the pandemic, with a new Paranormal Activity film set to be released exclusively on the platform in October.

This is the fourth time Top Gun: Maverick has been delayed since the pandemic began, and the sixth time overall. The film was originally scheduled to release on July 12, 2019.

Alongside Cruise, the cast includes Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer – who reprises his role as Iceman.

Tom Cruise has been filming Mission: Impossible 7 throughout the UK, popping up in Birmingham restaurants and a Warwickshire family’s garden via helicopter.

Most recently, the actor’s bodyguard had his car stolen while filming in Birmingham, which was believed to have contained thousands of pounds worth of goods belonging to Cruise.