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No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s James Bond swan song, is officially postponed to next year, the film’s producers announced on Friday. The 007 adventure is now due in theaters April 2, 2021.
The delay, attributable to the global coronavirus pandemic, comes as little surprise. Tentpole movies have been shifted repeatedly with distributors reluctant to offer big crowd-pleasers if there are no crowds to please. No Time to Die, originally given an April 10 release date, was first postponed to April 30, then quickly put off until Nov. 20 in North America (Nov. 12 in the U.K.).
Although U.S. theaters started reopening in some markets in August, they remain closed in New York and Los Angeles. The Labor Day premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (for Warner Bros.) grossed just $20.2 million domestically, and it’s made only $41.2 million on U.S. screens overall.
No Time to Die is the 25th James Bond film in a series going back almost 60 years. It is the fifth and final Bond appearance for Craig, who debuted in the role with 2006’s Casino Royale. Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) is director; Rami Malek plays Safin, the latest Bond villain, with Lea Seydoux as 007’s newest love interest. Billie Eilish is in charge of the title theme.
