As concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus continue to mount, the next James Bond movie has been delayed until November. MGM, Eon, and Universal made the decision as the coronavirus has heavily impacted box office numbers across Asia,Deadline reports.
The 25th Bond film will no longer hit theaters on the originally planned April 2/April 10 release dates in the U.K. and the U.S. respectively, and will instead debut Nov. 12 in the U.K. and Nov. 25 in the States. No Time to Die, which stars Daniel Craig in his last appearance as 007, already suffered numerous production delays before it finally started shooting in April 2019. It's also the first major studio film to be pushed back as a result of the virus.
"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," said the three studios in a statement. "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."
Founders of two of the biggest James Bond fan sites petitioned to have the film delayed earlier this week, BBC reports. "It is time to put public health above marketing release schedules," MI6 Confidential and the James Bond Dossier founders James Page and David Leigh wrote. "There is a significant chance that cinemas will be closed, or their attendance severely reduced, by early April. Even if there are no legal restrictions on cinemas being open, to quote M in Skyfall, 'How safe do you feel?'"
The news of the delay comes just after publicity tours for the film across China, South Korea, and Japan were canceled. Daniel Craig is set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend, but at least he can promote the Knives Out Blu-ray and VOD release if he wants.
