The new James Bond movie No Time To Die has been postponed to November 12 from April 10, Deadline reported. The main culprit appears to be the global spread of coronavirus, which has made it extremely difficult to not only promote the movie but also plan a theatrical rollout plan.
The movie has been directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and stars Daniel Craig in his final outing as the British spy codenamed 007. The movie was scheduled for a release on April 2 in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world on April 10.
According to a statement shared with Deadline, “MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of No Time to Die will be postponed until November 2020. The film will be released in the U.K. on November 12, 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the U.S. launch on November 25, 2020.”
One of the key factors leading to the decision appears to be the extent of the outbreak in China, which has locked down cities and shuttered cinemas to get the rampaging virus under control. With other key territories taking similar measures, including South Korea, Japan, Italy and France, “there was a clear need to push the release of No Time to Die”, Deadline said.
China is set to lose “more than $2 billion since shutting 70K theaters this year”, the publication added. “In total, the global box office is expected to see at least a $5B hit in 2020.”
No Time To Die marks Craig’s fifth and final outing as Bond. The characters include includes old flame Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), the villain Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) from Spectre and Rami Malek as the new antagonist Safin. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Jeffrey Wright reprise their roles as M, Eve, Q and Felix Leiter. Lashana Lynch plays a new 00 agent.