James Bond fans will have to wait almost an entire year for the next film, No Time to Die, after producers announced Friday that it has been delayed again as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 25th instalment of the spy franchise was originally scheduled to open in April 2020 but was pushed back to November when cinemas shut down. It has now been moved yet again to April 2nd, 2021, giving the world five more months to potentially recover, and for theatres to be fully operational.
“We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing No Time To Die next year,” MGM, Universal and the Bond producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, said in a statement.
No Time to Die is set to be Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007 and will see the return of cast members Naomie Harris, Léa Seydoux and Christoph Waltz, along with new cast members like Oscar-winner Rami Malek as the villain.
Many other films slated for release this year have also been pushed back because of the pandemic, including Marvel’s highly-anticipated possible blockbusters, ‘Black Widow’ and ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.’ It comes after Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ moved ahead with a release this year that saw disappointing returns at the box office.
After multiple delays, the Warner Bros film, ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ is still slated for a Christmas 2020 release, and Denis Villenueve’s ‘Dune Dune’ is set for release in December but they all could follow in the footsteps of James Bond and go for a 2021 release instead.