'No Time to Die' faces delay, won't be released soon
What's the story
It seems like ages have passed since we saw the first-look images of Daniel Craig-starrer James Bond flick, No Time To Die. The film, which was scheduled to release on April 2 this year, has now been moved to a hopefully more convenient date of October 8, as announced by the Twitter handle of the film. This decision comes as COVID-19 induced uncertainties remain.
Development
Trigger effect: Sony followed suit with delaying film releases
After this announcement, Bond films' earlier distributor, Sony Pictures, reshuffled its current 2021 slate. Its Jared Leto starrer Morbius, shifted its release from October 8, the date currently given to the Bond flick, to January 21, 2022. In it, Leto plays the role of a scientist-turned-vampire. Ghostbusters: Afterlife too was shifted from June to November 11, while Cinderella has a July 16 date now.
Timeline
The film will release slightly before Tom Cruise's tentpole
MGM, Eon Productions and Universal are endorsing this tentpole, which became the first big-budget film to face the wrath of the pandemic. However, its present release date may prove to be difficult for another lone wolf of a title in this industry namely Mission Impossible 7, which is anyway struggling to keep its production afloat amid shutdowns. It's slated to release on November 19.
Trivia
The star-studded film's delays forced Cineworld's temporary closure
No Time to Die is the last Bond outing of the 52-year-old British actor. The star-studded film has Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch. Notably, the successive delays of the film's release forced Britain's biggest and the world's second-largest cinema chain, Cineworld, to close its operations in UK and US last October.
Backdrop
The film faced trouble since the start of production
The venture has had a rocky turn of events. Danny Boyle had announced of his participation in the movie as the director in 2018, but opted out of it over creative differences, leading to Cary Fukunaga of True Detective holding the spot behind camera. Then, Craig suffered a serious ankle injury requiring surgery. He has been hurt earlier too while filming previous Bond flicks.