James Bond film No Time to Die release date pushed back by seven months
The 25th entry in the 007 film series will no longer hit cinemas in April
No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's final film outing as James Bond 007, has had its release date pushed back by more than seven months.
The film was set to hit UK cinemas on 2nd April, but will now be released on 12th November.
In a statement, MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced that they had made the decision to postpone the film's release "after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace".
New worldwide release dates are expected to follow, with the film now coming to the US on 25th November.
Fan site MI6: The Home of James Bond 007 published an open letter on Monday calling for EON, MGM, and Universal to postpone the film following the outbreak of Coronavirus.
"It is time to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of canceling publicity events," the letter read, arguing that with several of the films publicity tours, including those in China, South Korea, and Japan already cancelled, it made sense to alter the release date.
The world premiere of No Time to Die was set to go ahead in London on 31st March, but the open letter suggested that to not make appropriate changes would pose a huge public health risk.
"Hundreds of fans and celebrities from around the world will be flying to the UK to attend," it said.
"The Royal Albert Hall capacity is above the 5,000 limit that affected countries are banning for public gatherings. Just one person, who may not even show symptoms, could infect the rest of the audience. This is not the type of publicity anyone wants."
No Time to Die – the longest ever Bond film, running to 2 hours and 43 minutes – will see Daniel Craig's Bond pitted against Rami Malek's villain Sarif as the retired MI6 agent returns to action after five years.
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Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
