More Setback For Pandemic Battered Hollywood As Release Of New James Bond Movie, No Time To Die, Deferred To April 2021 

In a further setback to Hollywood movie industry that is already reeling under the effect of coronavirus pandemic, the release of the upcoming James Bond film 'No Time to Die' has been delayed again, this time to 2021.

MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, said on Twitter on Friday that the 25th instalment in the franchise will now open globally on 2 April 2021.

“No Time to Die,” from MGM and Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures, was originally slated to hit the big screen in April 2020 before being rescheduled for a November 20 release. The new date is 2 April 2021.

The hugely popular Bond franchise is one of the movie world’s most lucrative, with 2015’s “Spectre” raking in $880 million at the box office worldwide, while “Skyfall” in 2012 grossed more than $1 billion globally.

“No Time to Die,” which cost an estimated $200 million to produce, marks actor Daniel Craig’s last outing as agent 007.

Other big-budget flicks, including Marvel’s “Black Widow” and a “Top Gun” sequel, also have been delayed until next year after tepid response for few recently movies as audience continue to be reluctant to return in large numbers to movie halls. While AMC Entertainment, Cineworld Plc and others have reopened many locations, crowds have been thin, and theaters in the major markets of New York and Los Angeles remain shut.

Many famous directors, including James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, and Ang Lee, along with the Directors Guild of America, the National Association of Theater Owners, the Motion Picture Association of America sent a letter to the US Congress asking for help for the COVID-19 affected cinema industry, Reuters reported.

In the letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, and Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy, the directors asked that the relevant department prioritise helping industries hardest hit, like the country's beloved cinemas.