So what about shows that have already been filmed and completed? Perhaps streaming services could be the answer, and a tweet by movie industry insider Drew McWeeny claims that both Apple and Netflix are engaged in a bidding war for the upcoming James Bond “No Time To Die” movie.
The movie is currently set for a theatrical release in 2021, but before that it was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed twice, and with the current situation, it’s hard to say if the 2021 date will still hold. So much so that McWeeny claims that MGM is under pressure to sell the film to a streaming service, and both Apple and Netflix have offered up what McWeeny claims are “monster offers” for the movie.
I can't get my head around the idea that we may well see James Bond debut on Apple TV+ or Netflix. The numbers I've been hearing the last few days are I N S A N E…
— BooMcScreamy (@DrewMcWeeny) October 22, 2020
No actual figures were named, but given the popularity of the James Bond franchise, it would no doubt be a huge draw for either platform, especially if they are able to nab the exclusive rights to stream the movie. We’re not sure how this will play out, so we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, other companies like Disney have attempted to find workarounds for movies that were supposed to be released in the cinema.
Take for example Disney’s Mulan, where the company chose to release it on Disney+ where customers could pay an extra $30 to stream it early.