James Bond film 'No Time to Die' postpones release again

Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The release date for the next James Bond movie, No Time to Die, has been postponed for the third time.

MGM has moved the release date for the film to Oct. 8, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported on Thursday.

No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as 007, was originally scheduled for release on April 8, 2020, in the U.S. Craig went through with hosting Saturday Night Live on March 7, originally scheduled to coincide with promoting the Bond film.

The Bond film was the first 2020 film to postpone its release out of caution surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 4, No Time to Die announced it was moving to Nov. 25.

By March 16, films such as A Quiet Place Part II, Mulan, F9 and more postponed their releases as the pandemic worsened. Films such as Marvel's Black Widow, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Candyman have yet to come out.

Theaters reopened in the U.S. in August to support the September release of Tenet. However, by October, theaters faced further closures and COVID-19 cases spiked. No Time to Die moved again to April 2, 2021.

Cary Joji Fukunaga directs No Time to Die from a script by Fukunaga, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Rami Malek plays the film's villain.

Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous Craig Bond films. Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas and Billy Magnussen join the cast.