Well, this is unexpected. Just a few short moments ago, it was announced that No Time To Die, the 25th James Bond movie, was being pushed back by MGM from its original release date. What makes this so fascinating is not just that the flick was scheduled to come out in April, just about a month from now, but that it was due to the coronavirus outbreak, as opposed to a production or quality issue. Now, the film will come out in November, completely resetting the entire marketing campaign. This is rather unprecedented and a huge shock wave through the industry. The reason for the new release date is both public safety and money. They tie together here in a big way for MGM and company. Many of the international markets, China included, are restricting public gatherings, which will hugely impact a blockbuster entering theaters. With at least a third of its box office likely to come from those markets, the producers of No Time To Die obviously felt as though they had no choice in the matter. As a reminder, the film is not just the 25th James Bond outing, but star Daniel Craig’s final appearance as 007. The plot, as per IMDb, is as follows: “Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.” Craig obviously returns as the super spy, with other returning players including Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, Rory Kinnear, Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, and Geoffrey Wright. Newcomers consist of Rami Malek as the big villain, as well as Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen, and more. Cary Joji Fukunaga is in the director’s chair, and the screenplay, which Fukunaga also has a hand in, is credited to franchise mainstays Neil Purvis and Robert Wade, plus newcomer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Scott Z. Burns’ draft apparently isn’t being used enough to give him a credit). Linus Sandgren handles the cinematography, while the score is by Hans Zimmer. November is a long way off, but Craig’s final turn as Bond is still coming this year. We’ll just have to wait a while longer. Sit tight, be […]