'No Time To Die' release pushed back by 7 months amid coronavirus scare

The makers of new James Bond film, "No Time To Die", have postponed the release of the much-awaited Daniel Craig-starrer to November this year in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries, including the US, Italy and Iran.

"No Time To Die", which is the fifth and final appearance of Craig as the iconic British spy, was earlier scheduled to hit the screens in the UK on April 8 and in North America on April 10.

According to the official James Bond Twitter account, "No Time To Die" will now be released in the UK theatres on November 12, followed by a November 25 release in the US. Dates of worldwide theatrical release will be announced in due time.

"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 film will be released in the U.K. on November 12, 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25, 2020," the statement by the makers read.

The announcement comes days after two of the most popular James Bond fan sites -- MI6 Confidential and The James Bond Dossier -- urged the studios behind the new film to delay the release in the wake of the outbreak.

According to Deadline, "No Time to Die" will now face off on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with Warner Bros' Will Smith-starrer "King Richard", Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon", and Sony's comedy "The Happiest Season".

In view of the increasing number of coronavirus cases worldwide, many production banners such as Paramount Pictures have halted production on their films, with Disney Plus cancelling its Europe launch event and Amazon Studios pulling out of its participation from the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival.

The death toll of coronavirus in China has crossed 3,000 with 31 new fatalities and the total number of confirmed cases jumped to over 80,400.

By the end of Wednesday, there have been 12,600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus outside China, with over 214 deaths, statistics from the World Health Organisation showed Thursday.