No Mission: Impossible on Svalbard

Norway says no to filming on Arctic island

Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB
Actor Tom Cruise after parachuting at Hellesylt on Sunnmøre during the filming of a new “Mission: Impossible” film in 2020. The film has not yet premiered.

The producers of the next Mission: Impossible film hoped to be able to shoot the film in Svalbard. A Mission: Impossible, the state replied.

In February last year, it became known that the next Mission: Impossible film had received NOK 68.8 million through the Norwegian film incentive program to film scenes in Norway.

According to Bergens Tidende, the producers of the eighth film in the series have considered Svalbard as a filming location, but now the state has put its foot down.

The reason is that the Ministry of Culture believes that the incentive program does not apply to recordings made in Svalbard. According to the Svalbard Act, Norwegian private law and criminal law apply in Svalbard. Other statutory provisions do not apply, unless specifically stipulated.

They believe that it would be contrary to the Svalbard Environment Act and the overall objectives of the Svalbard policy to change the scope of the regulations on this point.

Dag Asbjørnsen, section leader for international relations at the Norwegian Film Institute, confirms that the production in question must be done elsewhere.

“The regulation does not apply to Svalbard, and expenses in Svalbard therefore do not provide a basis for reimbursement through the incentive program,” said Asbjørnsen.

In the past, scenes from Mission: Impossible films have been recorded at Preikestolen and at Sunnmøre.

This article originally appeared in the January 2023 print issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.