In response to the reports, McQuarrie issued a lengthy statement to Empire to “set the record straight”.
Stating that the bridge was not a protected monument as initially reported, he revealed the structure was scheduled to be demolished to accommodate a new railway system.
In fact, the bridge had been decommissioned in 2016, having been deemed too dangerous for public use. Thus, the MI7 crew were given permission to destroy it.
"The area in question was eager to promote tourism. Local roads being what they are, their best chance to do this rested in revitalizing an outdated rail system," McQuarrie explained.
"This included replacing the main decking of the bridge in question, which engineers had deemed structurally unsound. The bridge was not built entirely in 1906 as has been reported.
"That bridge was partially destroyed by the retreating Germans during the Second World War before being rebuilt (the current bridge is, in fact, one of two very similar ones in the area, neither of which is a protected monument). Bottom line: to open up the area to tourism, the bridge needed to go."
Intriguingly, McQuarrie also claimed that many of the misconceptions around the story were spread by one person.
"One individual, for reasons I cannot specify without revealing their identity, claimed they were owed a job on the production for which we felt they were not adequately qualified," he said.
"When this individual's demands were not met, they retaliated. After harassing members of our production publicly and anonymously on social media, as well as privately, this individual misrepresented our intentions and concealed their personal reasons for wanting to penalize us."
He added: "To respect and celebrate the places we film is our prime directive. No one involved in the production asked for permission to destroy a historically significant landmark in Poland. In all sincerity, our only agenda is to tell an engaging story as authentically as we can and hopefully entertain the hell out of you.
"Of course, we're also happy to get rid of any condemned bridges that might be lying around. Waste not, want not, after all."
Although Mission: Impossible 7 was originally scheduled for July 2021 release, ongoing filming delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic have pushed back this date to November 2021.
Filming is set to recommence in September 2020.
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