Bond film ‘No Time to Die’ delayed again because of virus

Producers of the forthcoming James Bond thriller ‘No Time to Die’ say the film’s release has been delayed again, until the autumn of 2021, because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic

You only flit twice: the new James Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, has been delayed again (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Never say never… but it’s still not time for No Time to Die.

Producers of the forthcoming James Bond thriller say the film’s release has been delayed again, until the autumn of 2021, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The official 007 Twitter account said late on Thursday that the 25th instalment of the franchise will now open on 8 October.

No Time to Die was originally slated to open in April 2020, but was pushed back to November of that year as the virus swept around the world. It was then delayed again to 2 April 2021.

The film from director Cary Joji Fukunaga stars Daniel Craig as 007, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas.

It’s one of a slew of major releases to be pushed back or moved to streaming services as Hollywood studios grapple with coronavirus-related restrictions that have shuttered cinemas in markets around the world.

While mass-vaccination programmes in many countries give hope that theaters can reopen, progress on immunisation is slow.

After the latest Bond delay was announced, Sony said it was pushing back several of its scheduled spring releases. It said Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway was moving from April to June, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was delayed from June to November and Cinderella, starring singer Camila Cabello, will now arrive in July rather than February.