James Bond movie 'No Time To Die' release gets pushed back 7 months over coronavirus scare

The release of the 25th movie in the James Bond series - No Time To Die - has been postponed to November 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak across the globe.

The film, which was originally scheduled for an April 2020 release, is now slated to release in November.

The James Bond franchise made the formal announcement on Twitter.

"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," the late Wednesday night announcement said.

The film will now be released in the UK on November 12 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25.

The trailers of the James Bond film starring Daniel Craig, in his fifth and final outing as the fictional MI6 agent, had gone viral on social media.

The Bond films' profit largely comes from international markets and the situation in China's Wuhan province has pushed the makers to cancel publicity tours of the film in China, South Korea and Japan.

Movie theaters have been closed in China since January and other nations, including Japan, South Korea and parts of Italy, are also closing theaters in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.

The 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.

The film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga with the screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear reprise their roles from previous films with Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik and Billy Magnussen joining the cast.

(With inputs from agencies)