THE RELEASE date for the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die has been postponed until November.

Daniel Craig's fifth outing as Bond was set to be released on April 2 in the UK, but a tweet from the official James Bond account announced it had been pushed back after a "thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace."

The tweet read: "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".

A second tweet said: "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."

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This came just two days after the founders of two Bond fan sites asked the studios to push back the release due to the widespread coronavirus.

In an open letter, James Page, co-founder of MI6 and MI6 Confidential magazine, and David Leigh, founder of The James Bond Dossier, said: "After enduring three delays in production already, it is by no means easy to say this: the release of 'No Time To Die' should be postponed.

"With the Coronavirus reaching pandemic status, it is time to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of cancelling publicity events.

"Major events around the world have already been cancelled or postponed due to health risks. Leading tech companies have banned travel for hundreds of thousands of employees, including Amazon and Google. All before the US and UK outbreaks expand.

"With a month to go before 'No Time To Die' opens worldwide, community spread of the virus is likely to be peaking in the United States. Today, Washington declared a state of emergency. There is a significant chance that cinemas will be closed, or their attendance severely reduced, by early April. Even if there are no legal restrictions on cinemas being open, to quote M in Skyfall, "how safe do you feel?"

"Publicity tours for 007 in China, South Korea, and Japan have already been cancelled. The release in Hong Kong was pushed to April 30. These are sensible actions that should be applauded.

"That brings us to the world premiere for No Time To Die set for March 31 in London. Hundreds of fans and celebrities from around the world will be flying to the UK to attend. The Royal Albert Hall capacity is above the 5,000 limit that affected countries are banning for public gatherings. Just one person, who may not even show symptoms, could infect the rest of the audience. This is not the type of publicity anyone wants.

"The UK and US outbreaks are in their early stages, but if they follow the predictable pattern of other developed countries, the situation by late March and early April will not be conducive to the box-office.

"Delay the release of 'No Time To Die' until the summer when experts expect the epidemics to have peaked and to be under control. It’s just a movie. The health and well-being of fans around the world, and their families, is more important. We have all waited over four years for this film. Another few months will not damage the quality of the film and only help the box-office for Daniel Craig’s final hurrah."