Movie delays strike again: No Time to Die, Uncharted, Morbius, Ghostbusters move back

It’s a new year, but COVID is still dangerously among us, causing studios to once again push out the release date of their films.

The next James Bond blockbuster, No Time to Die, leads the pack of the latest round of delays, with Variety reporting that the movie will now release in theaters on Oct. 8, 2021, rather than its previous date of Apr. 2, 2021.

No Time to Die’s delay wasn’t much of a surprise — the film’s $200 million budget necessitates a global theatrical release in order to make money. Of course, that just isn’t possible right now, when many theaters are closed or, at best, running at limited capacity. This latest push puts No Time to Die 18 months out from its original release date of Apr. 10, 2020, though it’s clear that MGM thinks the cost of delaying is less than the cost of premiering the film when most people aren’t able to see it.

On the heels of No Time to Die’s announcement, another studio announced changes to their release schedule. Variety is also reporting that Sony has shifted its schedule for Ghostbusters Afterlife, the video game adaptation of Uncharted, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, and Cinderella. Sony also bumped the Spider-Man spinoff Morbius, starring Jared Leto, to Jan. 21, 2022.

Starring Camila Cabello, Cinderella was previously scheduled for a Feb. 5 release date, but will now premiere on July 16. Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters Afterlife will move from June 11 and will now debut Nov. 11. Uncharted, featuring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, will move from July of this year to Feb. 11, 2022, another step back on the film's long road to the big screen. And Peter Rabbit 2, which was initially scheduled for Apr. 2, is now leading the pack for Sony and coming out June 11 instead.

Disney/Fox has also pushed The King's Man to August 20, 2021.

Focus Features has also joined in the theatrical release reshuffle — announcing that Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho will now come out Oct. 22 rather than Apr. 23.

Further shuffling includes Paramount Pictures, which has now pushed A Quiet Place Part II from Apr. 23 to Sept. 17.

This latest round of schedule changes has pushed almost all of the major movies out of the first quarter of 2021. Whether these films — especially the blockbusters that need to make a lot in ticket sales to recoup costs — will be pushed out again, remains to be seen.

**EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include new dates for Paramount and Disney/Fox films.**