Movies

James Bond film ‘No Time to Die’ to be delayed again

No Time to Die’, the James Bond film starring Daniel Craig is reportedly set to be delayed again amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The new release date is supposedly sometime during the fall, most likely in November 2021. 

Pushing back a film’s release date was uncommon and rather look down upon practice in the film industry before the pandemic. But evidently, this uncalled upon event has changed several things for us, and the industry is no different to this.

In a report by Deadline, Dutch exhibitor Carlo Lambregts stated that the film has been postponed from April to November 2021.

This date change will see No Time to Die competing with Mission: Impossible 7 which is slated for a release on November 19, 2021. It will be interesting to see whether Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt or Craig’s James Bond will win over the box office.  

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced will be the first Bond film to be distributed by Universal Pictures. This comes after Sony Pictures contract for the distribution rights expired with Spectre in 2015. With a run time of 163 minutes, No Time To Die will be the longest Bond film.

Image: MGM/Universal Pictures

The upcoming No Time to Die will be Daniel Craig’s final bout as the British MI6 agent James Bond. Even though the actor had previously stated in the press for “Spectre” that he would rather slash his wrist than play the role again.  

The movie will see James Bond retired from MI6 and attempting to live a normal life in Jamaica with his girlfriend Madeleine Swann. He is however approached by his former contact Felix Leiter who reaches out for help to search for missing scientist Valdo Obruchev. Bond is sucked back into the international spy life when he realizes that millions of lives are at stake.

With a budget of $250 million, ‘No Time to Die’ has joined the list of the most expensive films ever made. 

The maestro Hans Zimmer will be providing the soundtrack to the film, with Billie Eilish voicing the official Bond theme for No Time To Die. The grammy award winner will also be the youngest artist to voice a theme song for a Bond film. 

Image: MGM/Universal Pictures

Oscar-winner Rami Malek will play Bond villain Safin. The 25th addition to the Bond franchise will see several familiar faces from Crag’s 007 tenure. Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, and Rory Kinnear as Tanner are all set to return. 

Léa Seydoux and Jeffrey Wright will also reprise their roles as Dr Madeleine Swann and Felix Leiter. Also joining the cast are Lashana Lynch, Ana De Armas, David Dencik, Billy Magnussen and Dali Benssalah.

The 25th instalment in the James Bond franchise was originally scheduled for a release in  November 2019. However, Danny Boyle who was originally supposed to direct the film left the project over creative difference which shifted the release date to April 2020. Then the pandemic forced the distributors to play musical chairs with the release date and it was shifted to November 2020 and then 2 April 2021. 

Check out the trailer for No Time to Die.