News about movies being delayed was hardly uncommon pre-March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly resulted in such news being reported more frequently. The next James Bond movie, No Time to Die, was the first major motion picture to be delayed in response to the health crisis, and currently the plan is for it to arrive in April. However, 007 fans might have to prepare for Daniel Craig’s James Bond swan song not arriving until towards the end of 2021.
As reported by Deadline, Dutch exhibitor Carlo Lambregts claimed that he’s heard No Time to Die will be moved from April 2, 2021 to sometime this coming November. While that hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, Deadline has also heard that promotional partners have been informed that the next James Bond adventure is moving to the fall period. Assuming all this is true, then it’s a good bet that MGM and Eon Productions will announce a new release date to the public in the near future.
Of course, if No Time to Die ends up in November, it would be back in a familiar environment. Once upon a time, No Time to Die was initially supposed to come out in November 2019, and when the pandemic started forcing movie theaters to close their doors, the 25th James Bond movie shifted from its April 10, 2020 slot to November 20, 2020. Even before No Time to Die, November had already been cemented as primo James Bond territory, especially for Daniel Craig’s incarnation, with Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre having all been released in the United States during that month.
As for why No Time to Die is reportedly moving to November, it’s because like in the United States, the United Kingdom is still dealing with a lot of coronavirus cases. Needless to say that the U.K. is a key market when it comes to the James Bond franchise, and since it’s unclear when theatrical exhibition will return to normal operations, as was the case in March 2020, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
At one point, MGM was considering selling No Time to Die to a streaming service, such as Netflix or Apple. However, with the movie fetching a roughly $800 million price tag, there were no takers. As such, No Time to Die is still intended to be a theatrical release, and MGM is reportedly “adamant” that the movie eventually hit big screens across the globe given how commercially successful it could end up being.
Taking place five years after the events of Spectre, No Time to Die follows James Bond being drawn out of retirement to track down a missing scientist and uncovering a sinister scheme that could see millions being killed. Other returning faces include Léa Seydoux Dr. Madeleine Swann, Ben Whishaw’s Q, Jeffrey Wright’s Felix Leiter, Naomie Harris’ Eve Moneypenny, Christoph Waltz’s Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Ralph Fiennes’ M and Rory Kinnear’s Bill Tanner, while the new players include Rami Malek’s Safin, Lashana Lynch’s Nomi and Ana de Armas’ Paloma, among others. Cary Fukunaga sat in the director’s chair for this James Bond outing, and he also worked on the screenplay with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Stay locked on CinemaBlend for more updates on No Time to Die. For now, learn what other movies are coming out this year with our 2021 release schedule.
