No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond film, has become the first major Hollywood tentpole film to delay its global release because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The movie, which was slated to premiere in London later this month and open globally in early April, has been pushed all the way back to November 12, 2020 in the U.K. and November 25, 2020 everywhere else. But with worldwide concern rising as the coronavirus continues to infect more and more people across multiple countries, it seems as if MGM and United Artists Releasing (who is releasing the film domestically) and Universal (who is handling international distribution) have decided that it’s better to be cautious than to take a Bond-esque “dive in head first and deal with the consequences later” approach.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the producers who have shepherded the James Bond franchise since 1995, “drove the decision to make the dramatic move,” despite it being a difficult challenge to upend a major movie so close to its release and rethink its marketing efforts. Bond movies have always been travelogues, with the franchise’s on-screen globetrotting being matched with worldwide press tours. That aspect is as much a part of the franchise’s traditions as sharp suits and slick cars.
