One of the most eagerly anticipated movies of 2020 surely was No Time to Die. The 25th entry in the James Bond franchise was slated to hit theatres last April, but the COVID-19 epidemic struck the world, and MGM was forced to delay the movie until fall 2020, hoping things would get better by then and that moviegoers would be enjoying 007 latest adventure in November 2020.
This did not come to be taking into account the worsening health crisis, and after another delay, No Time to Die is now scheduled to hit the silver screen this April 2021. However, those looking forward to watch the movie this spring might not be able to do so if recent rumors surrounding the film are proven true.
You see, there’s a rumor swirling around that No Time to Die will be delayed for a third time, as was recently reported on Screen Rant. Sources close to movie website Deadline reportedly told the outlet that there would be another delay. Seemingly, the movie’s high-profile promotional partners have also been made aware of this.
Like previous Bond films, No Time to Die will have its share of product placements – 007 will surely be seen driving an Aston Martin car, while Daniel Craig’s character will also be sporting an Omega watch in this one. And it’s no surprise that Bond and Felix Leiter are seen next to bottles of Heineken beers in the movie still which accompanies this article. Actually, No Time to Die star Daniel Craig has appeared in Heineken commercials before (such as this cool one from 2015).
Delaying the film until this fall, though, seems like a good idea. This is especially true taking into account that the epidemic has taken a turn for the worse this winter, and that 65 percent of US movie theatres are currently closed as Screen Rant points out. Plus given that No Time to Die is likely to be a box office hit, why risk releasing it when so many moviegoers will be staying at home? Recent high-profile movies like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet did not generate as much revenue as was expected of them due to releasing amidst the health crisis, that’s for sure.
An argument could be going on at MGM about whether to delay No Time to Die for the third time…
Shifting the release date to the fall does mean No Time to Die could be up against some tough competition such as the new Mission Impossible film starring Tom Cruise. There’s also no guarantee that a release this November will be possible either – COVID-19 could yet take a turn for the worse. Perhaps producer MGM should have signed some form of streaming deal as was rumored it could happen last year (a $600 million US dollar deal with top streaming services apparently fell through). This is something that Disney did with its highly anticipated Mulan movie, but it’s not clear whether things worked out for the US company or not.
And if another No Time to Die delay becomes a reality it might leave MGM executives cursing themselves for not releasing the movie in November 2019 as they had originally planned. Aside from initial doubts about whether Daniel Craig would sign up for another outing (he famously said he would “slash his wrists” rather than play the character again), there were also issues with director Danny Boyle.
Actually, it’s likely that differences between eccentric director Danny Boyle and the movie’s producers led to an initial delay to February 2020, and another delay to April 2020 when Boyle had to be replaced with current director Cary Joji Fukunaga. By then, the pandemic had taken hold of the world, and the rest as they say is history…
Nonetheless, James Bond fans can only hope that things will get better, and that No Time to Die will be seen in theatres if not this April, then in the fall as current rumors suggest it will.
Read more: New details emerge about Bond 25
No Time to Die (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)