The COVID pandemic has challenged many projects and impacted millions of jobs around the world. The movie industry is no different. Everything was shut down in March, and although some productions continue to be delayed, many others have resumed under strict COVID protocols.
The film industry is certainly a resilient beast, and while its entire future may have been called into question by the COVID pandemic and the lockdowns that resulted from it, it has found a way to survive and thrive. Many great Hollywood movies were made – or are in the process of being made – during the pandemic, including these.
ten Mission: Impossible 7
Perhaps the biggest and most expensive movie filmed during the pandemic right now is Mission: Impossible 7. Serving as a follow-up to the highly acclaimed Fall, Mission: Impossible 7 will bring together many of the major players, including Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson.
Filming began in September but stopped in October after twelve different people contracted COVID. The filming process made headlines in late December 2020, as media caught on an audio leak that saw an irritated cruise ship yelling at some crew members for disobeying COVID security protocols.
9 Unexplored
Based on the famous video game series of the same name, Unexplored will star Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Sully. Filming for the film began on March 16, but stopped days later due to global COVID lockdowns.
Filming officially resumed in Germany all summer before moving to Italy in the fall. Filming officially ended at the end of October, with Antonio Banderas being the only major actor to test positive throughout the filming process.
8 Avatar 2
It seems like Avatar 2 has been in the works for years. James Cameron has been talking about a sequel over the past decade, but nothing has ever come to fruition. That is to say until the end of the 2010s, when the discussions on the set finally started.
Principal photography on the performance capture began in September 2017, with a live shoot a few years later. Filming began in New Zealand in May 2020 after a two-week hotel quarantine suffered by the cast and crew. Cameron concluded filming in New Zealand the following September.
seven Jurassic World: Dominion
Serving as the sixth installment in the incredibly popular jurassic park franchise, Domination will serve as a direct sequel to 2018 Fallen kingdom. Many jurassic park Veterans will return for the film, including Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern.
Filming was suspended indefinitely in March 2020, but it officially resumed on July 6 with the cast and crew living in a rented hotel. After further delays for positive COVID tests, filming for the film officially ended on November 7, 2020.
6 Elvis
The world is finally going to have a movie about Elvis Presley. Co-written and directed by stylish director Baz Luhrmann, Elvis is slated for release November 5, 2021 and will feature Austin Butler as an iconic rock and roll legend. Tom Hanks will also appear as Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
Hanks tested positive for COVID on March 12, 2020, making him one of the first major movie stars to test positive for the virus. Fortunately, he recovered and filming for the film resumed in September.
5 The batman
Serving yet another reboot of the Batman franchise, Matt Reeves The batman will cover Bruce Wayne’s second year of pro crime fighting. As Batman, Robert Pattinson, who will play alongside Paul Dano as The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman.
Filming for the film resumed in September but quickly stopped again after Pattinson tested positive for COVID. Like Hanks, Pattinson thankfully recovered and filming was allowed to resume. It is expected to continue until February 2021.
4 The little Mermaid
Disney looks to continue its tradition of live-action remakes with The little Mermaid. Serving as a remake of the iconic 1989 original, this one will star Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Halle Bailey as Ariel.
It will also feature new songs from Hamiltonby Lin-Manuel Miranda (who also made the music for Moana). Some actors started recording their lines in late July, and in November 2020, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that every movie that had been delayed due to COVID had resumed filming.
3 The more they fall
The more they fall looks like a good old school traditional western – with only a hint of truth behind it. Distributed exclusively by Netflix, The more they fall will star Jonathan Majors as Nat Love, a true African-American cowboy who seeks revenge for the murder of his parents. Idris Elba will also play the role of Rufus Buck.
COVID lockdowns have struck to the right before The more they fall could start filming, and they finally started in September. Filming was briefly halted in mid-October after one of the cast tested positive.
2 We have to do something
We have to do something is an upcoming psychological horror, and it will serve as production company Spin a Black Yarn’s debut film. The film will star Sierra McCormick as Melissa, a woman trapped in a bathroom with her family during a fierce and destructive tornado.
The film will also star Vinessa Shaw and Pat Healy. The film was shot entirely throughout fall 2020, spanning four weeks in September and October.
1 Don’t worry darling
Although best known for her acting, Olivia Wilde directed the highly acclaimed Booksmart in 2019. Its planned follow-up is Don’t worry darling, which will star Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine and Wilde herself.
The plot of the film remains relatively unknown, aside from the fact that it will follow a housewife from the 1950s who discovers some sort of secret. Pre-production ran for much of the fall, and filming finally began on October 20. However, it was temporarily halted a few days later after a team member contracted COVID.
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