New James Bond film's April premiere scrapped; movie forced to hit theaters in November due to coronavirus outbreak

The latest installment in the James Bond franchise — "No Time to Die" — is being pushed out to November over coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, concerns.

What are the details?

The U.S. debut for the 25th Bond film was set for April 10, but has been rescheduled to Nov. 25. The film will debut in the United Kingdom on Nov. 12.

MGM and Universal announced the change Wednesday along with producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

A Twitter statement said, "MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of 'No Time To Die' will be postponed until November 2020."

According to Variety, the new release date for the film, which cost more than $200 million to make, could lead other major releases to reschedule:

"No Time to Die's" decision could disrupt the release calendar. Other major tentpoles may now consider delaying their releases until coronavirus has been contained. Insiders said theater closures are having a huge impact on their bottom line, with revenues in places like Hong Kong and Taiwan plummeting nearly 50% and the box office drying up in Italy.

Earlier on Wednesday, the U.K.'s The Guardian reported that fans were calling for producers to postpone the premiere out of fear of coronavirus spread.

A portion of an open letter — written by prolific Bond fan sites M16 Confidential and The James Bond Dossier and titled, "No Time for Indecision" — said, "It is by no means easy to say this: The release of 'No Time To Die' should be postponed. It is time to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of cancelling publicity events. ... It's just a movie."

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