James Bond’s last adventure hit another spine. “No Time to Die”, the next episode of the British spy series, has been postponed yet again.
The film will now be released in theaters on October 8. Originally, it was scheduled to open on April 2.
It is no surprise that Bond was pushed back to fall. Hollywood has widely anticipated that “No Time to Die” will face another delay as coronavirus cases continue to skyrocket.
“No Time to Die” cost $ 200 million to produce and depends on global ticket sales to make a profit. This is almost impossible to achieve when most cinemas are closed and the few that remain open are operating at reduced capacity. Thursday’s announcement marks the film’s third delay in the past 10 months. In March 2020, “No Time to Die” became the first pillar of support to change its release date in the midst of the pandemic.
MGM is launching “No Time to Die” in North America, while Universal has international rights.
The latest change to the “No Time to Die” schedule may inspire rival studios to delay their films in the early months of 2021. Moments after MGM changed Bond, Universal announced that Bob Odenkirk’s action thriller “Nobody” , was moving from February 26th to April 2nd. And Focus Features, the specialized studio owned by Universal, topped Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho” from April 23 to October 22.
Most of the major films have already been postponed until mid-summer or later, but a select few remain on the film calendar in early 2021, including Sony’s “Cinderella” starring Camila Cabello (February 5) and “Man of King ”of Disney and the 20th century (March 12).
Cary Joji Fukunaga directed “No Time to Die”, the 25th film in the Bond franchise and the last chance for star Daniel Craig. The cast also includes Rami Malek as Bond’s opponent, Safin, Lashana Lynch as the new ‘007 agent, and Léa Seydoux as Bond’s girlfriend. Ana de Armas, Ben Whishaw and Christoph Waltz also star.