Yahoo Movies James Bond's 'No Time To Die' delayed by pandemic for the third time
Watch: No Time To Die delayed again
No Time To Die, the forthcoming James Bond film has been delayed for a third time by the coronavirus pandemic.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as Ian Fleming’s secret agent will now arrive on 8 October, the official 007 social media accounts announced.
It had been set to be released in April this year following multiple pandemic-enforced delays.
Read more: Actors who could be the next James Bond
No Time To Die is the latest major release to be pushed back as Hollywood studios scramble to protect their films from certain box office doom, with cinemas remaining closed in markets around the world.
Earlier this month Warner Bros announced it was delaying the release of Sopranos prequel The Many Saints Of Newark.
And after MGM released the Bond news, Sony said Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway was moving from April to June, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was pushed from June to November and Cinderella, which stars singer Camila Cabello, will now arrive in July.
Video game adaptation Uncharted has been shifted from 2021 and moved to February 2022, Sony said, while Jared Leto superhero flick Morbius, which did have the October 8 slot now occupied by No Time To Die, is now slated for January next year.
Read more: Bridgerton star responds to 007 speculation
No Time To Die was the first major film to fall victim to the pandemic when its April 2020 release was pushed to November as the virus swept around the world.
Timeline of No Time To Die delays
Bond 25 was announced in May 2018 with a release date of 25 October, 2019
When Danny Boyle quits Bond 25 in September 2018, the film is delayed to 14 February, 2020
In February 2019, Bond 25 is delayed to April 2020
In March 2020, No Time To Die is delayed by the coronavirus pandemic to 12 November, 2020
On 2 October, 2020, with cinemas unable to reopen, No Time To Die is delayed to April 2021
In January, 2021 No Time To Die is pushed back again to October 2021
In October last year it was delayed to April when it became clear COVID-19 was still rampant and cinemas would not be widely reopening.
The latest delay comes as no surprise and it was a question of when, not if. In the US, more than 400,000 people have died from Covid-19 while the situation is also dire in the UK.
As well as the film industry, the wider entertainment world has been battered by the pandemic. On Thursday it was announced the Glastonbury music festival had been cancelled for a second successive year.
As well as Craig, 52, No Time To Die also stars Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch and Ana De Armas and is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with a script co-written by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
It will deliver a satisfying ending for Craig’s Bond, according to producer Barbara Broccoli.
Speaking on the official James Bond podcast, she said: “It’s a culmination of everything that his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It’s a pretty epic film, I have to say.”
No Time To Die finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.
Watch the latest trailer for No Time To Die
