Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 adds five new cast members, including Cary Elwes and Rob Delaney

Rob Delany is joining the Mission Impossible 7 cast — (Image credit: Disney/Universal)

The Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 cast has expanded. Director Christopher McQuarrie announced on Instagram that Cary Elwes, Rob Delaney, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and Charles Parnell have all joined the upcoming actioner.

Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 – which were originally due to be filmed back-to-back, but have since been broken up due to COVID restrictions – already have an incredible cast of franchise returners and newcomers. Tom Cruise will be back as Ethan Hunt, with Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Angela Bassett reprising their roles from previous movies in the series. Captain America: The First Avenger star Hayley Atwell is joining the franchise in an undisclosed role.

There's no information on the roles Elwes (The Princess Bride), Delaney (Deadpool 2), and Varma (Game of Thrones) will play in the two sequels. A photograph accompanied each casting announcement, with McQuarrie beginning with a teasing image of a train carriage. The filmmaker previously revealed Mission: Impossible 7 had wrapped in Abu Dhabi and the crew were returning to London to apply a few "finishing touches" to the movie.

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The Mission: Impossible 7 shoot has seen the cast travel from Norway to Italy to the UAE – quite the feat in the middle of a global pandemic. According to the sneak peek we've had from set photos, it looks like we can expect the usual jaw-dropping stunts from the newest installment in the action franchise. Cruise has been spotted speeding through Rome while handcuffed to Atwell and on top of a speeding train, to name just two glimpses behind the scenes.

Mission: Impossible 7 is due for release on November 19, 2021, delayed a few months from its original July release date, while Mission: Impossible 8 is currently planned for November 4, 2022. While we wait for Mission: Impossible 7 (and 8), make sure you've caught up with the best movies of 2020.

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.