LONDON – The coronavirus outbreak in the UK is causing a disruption in the British entertainment industry too- several events were axed and concerns have been raised regarding the new Bond film’s timing.
Events have been cancelled by Walt Disney, who intended on promoting the European launch of Disney+. The channel is intended to be a competitor to Netflix and Amazon Prime and will be showing the latest StarWars “The Mandalorian”.
On Thursdays, celebrities and executives were to strut down the red carpet in London to promote Disney+, which shall be available from March 24th to subscribers in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The London Book Fair which was to take place on the 10th to 12th of March was also called off on Wednesday. Organised by Reed Exhibitions, the publishers’ trade show usually attracts over 25,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.
Both the Disney and Reed-organised events have been cancelled citing concerns on limited international travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The latest addition to the James Bond franchise, “No Time to Die”, expected to be one of 2020’s biggest entertainment events, seems to come at a bad time, according to fans.
Due for release on the 3rd of April, this is Daniel Craig’s last walk in the shoes of the famous spy. James Bond fan sites have requested the film studios asking for a delayed-release citing concerns that cinemas may be closed on the expected release dates.
An open letter was posted by the team which stated that the No Time to Die world premiere may be problematic as it is to take place in London on March 31st and over 5,000 attendees were expected.
The release of the latest addition to the franchise is mostly to be delayed until summer when experts believe that the epidemic will have peaked and been under control.
The movie’s producers, EON Productions did not comment on the letter. MGM and Universal were also not available for comment.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.