Bond 25 Release Date Delayed by Two Months to April 2020

It would appear that James Bond doesn’t want to be our Valentine. The 25th film in the enduring espionage franchise, which will also be Daniel Craig’s last, has seen its release date pushed back from February 14, 2020 to April 8. 007 obsessives who have a hard time on the flower-and-candy-themed holiday as it is will likely enjoy it even less next year, alas.

Cary Joji Fukunaga is helming the long-awaited follow-up to “Spectre,” which many thought would mark Craig’s final go-round as Bond after also playing the suave spy in “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” and “Skyfall.” Fukunaga most recently directed the Netflix series “Maniac,” his first TV venture since the acclaimed first season of “True Detective”; other big-screen outings include “Jane Eyre” and “Beasts of No Nation.”

“Over the years, you’ve seen a lot of different iterations not only of Bond, but of films that have mimicked it or copied it,” Fukunaga told IndieWire last year. “So I think the exciting part actually is going to the original source, and being able to play in a sandbox.”

Craig’s other Bond films were directed by Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”), Marc Forster (“Quantum of Solace”), and Sam Mendes (“Skyfall,” “Spectre”). His return to the series was far from certain, and in reprising the role he becomes one of the longest-tenured actors to portray 007: Only Sean Connery and Roger Moore had the license to kill for longer than he has. Speculation as to his successor has run rampant for years now, with nearly as many contenders emerging as opinions on the matter.

Production on the unnamed Bond 25 is set to begin on March 4 of this year.