Due to the harsh realities of current events and the COVID-19 pandemic, the highly anticipated twenty-fifth James Bond movie, No Time To Die, was delayed indefinitely. Daniel Craig’s fifth and final tenure as 007 has been promised to be an event that long-time Bond fans shouldn’t miss, but they’ll have to wait a bit before they can watch it.
Set for an October 8, 2021 debut, No Time To Die will follow Bond when he’s forced back into the cloak-and-dagger world, only to encounter the most dangerous enemy possible. But even with this synopsis and some revealing interviews, No Time To Die remains shrouded in mystery.
10 It’s The First Bond Movie Directed By An American
Bond is synonymous to Britain, with literally every movie of his being made by predominantly British crews and casts. No Time To Die marks a significant shift for the franchise, with True Detective director Cary Fukunaga (above; right) being the first American to direct a Bond movie.
This wouldn’t have been the case if Sam Mendes and Danny Boyle didn’t drop out. Mendes felt that he was done with Bond after Skyfall and Spectre, saying that a third one wouldn’t be “healthy.” Even so, Mendes “can’t wait” for Fukunaga’s movie and will attend its world premiere. Meanwhile, Boyle was hired to replace Mendes but left following creative differences with MGM.
9 Billie Eilish Sang The Title Song
A Bond movie wouldn’t be complete without an original title song, and No Time To Die will keep up this tradition with Billie Eilish singing it. This marks a return to form for the franchise, since Spectre was one of the few installments that opened with a song (Sam Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall”) that wasn’t named after the movie; a rarity in Bond’s history.
Eilish is the youngest artist to sing a Bond song, being only 18 when “No Time To Die” was recorded. The critically-praised song was Eilish’s first number one hit in the UK Singles Chart Top 100 and made it to number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Best of all, the song scored a Grammy nod for Best Song Written For Visual Media.
8 Phoebe Waller-Bridge Is Only The Second Woman To Write A Bond Movie
For lack of better words, James Bond is a “man’s movie,” with it being a transparent power fantasy for men. This is what makes Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s involvement significant, since she’s only the second woman after Johanna Harwood (Dr. No and From Russia With Love) to pen a Bond movie.
No Time To Die went through numerous rewrites, with Waller-Bridge being the fifth writer after the duo of Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, John Hodge (Danny Boyle’s script writing partner), and Cary Fukunaga. Craig invited Waller-Bridge to polish Fukunaga’s script since he loved her show Fleabag. Famously, Craig shut down a reporter who implied that Waller-Bridge’s addition was a “diversity hire.”
7 Phoebe Waller-Bridge Thinks The Franchise Can Grow Up With ‘No Time To Die’
An enduring criticism of James Bond is that he’s basically the cinematic embodiment of toxic masculinity and chauvinism. Waller-Bridge actually agrees with this, but she doesn’t think Bond has to mature. For her, the one that needs to do some growing up is the franchise around him.
As she told Deadline, Bond is relevant in today’s day and age, but more as a bad example. For her, Bond can go on womanizing and being casually sexist as he’s always done, but the franchise itself has to acknowledge this and counter it by depicting its female characters properly. How her perspective plays out through her script and dialogue will be interesting to see.
6 It’s Set In Jamaica For A Reason
If No Time To Die were any other Bond movie, dropping by Jamaica wouldn’t turn any heads. However, since it’s an important milestone for the legendary spy, the choice to set some action and drama in this specific country is anything but coincidence.
Jamaica was the setting and shooting location of Dr. No, the very first Bond movie. Additionally, Bond author Ian Fleming called Jamaica his second home, which is where he wrote a good number of 007’s books. Jamaica named an airport (the Ian Fleming International Airport) after him, making him the first English-language author to get such an honor in the country.
5 Familiar Faces Are Coming Back
The Craig Bond Era stands out for having a cohesive timeline instead of an episodic one, leading to recurring characters. While M, Q, and Moneypenny coming back is no surprise, others are noteworthy. Specifically, Bond’s Spectre love interest Dr. Madeleine Swann (Bond Girls having more than one movie is highly uncommon), and his CIA liaison & friend Felix Leiter, who hasn’t been seen since Casino Royale.
The biggest comeback is none other than Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who’s been imprisoned after his defeat in Spectre. Blofeld (who was rewritten into his half-brother with serious daddy issues) may not be the central villain of the movie, but his rivalry with Bond has yet to die or even diminish.
4 Lyutsifer Safin Is Said To Be Bond’s Worst Nemesis
With 25 movies and countless years of undying influence to his name, Bond has enjoyed having some of the most iconic movie villains of all time, from Goldfinger to Sean Bean in Goldeneye. No Time To Die aims to top these villainous legends with Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), who Fukunaga promises to be Bond’s most dangerous foe.
Fukunaga also revealed that Safin, a self-proclaimed anarchist, is the ex-SPECTRE assassin responsible for killing Dr. Swann’s mother. Safin is also a hyper-intelligent madman, which gives him a psychological edge against Bond. According to Malek, his character views himself as the hero of his own story, making him Bond’s dark reflection of sorts.
3 Nomi Is (Not) The Next 007
A crazy mix of confusion and excitement took the internet by storm when the trailers introduced Nomi (Lashana Lynch, who was Maria Rambeu in Captain Marvel). This was because Nomi was hyped up to be both the newest double-0 agent and the latest 007 which, to some, all but confirmed that she was replacing Bond. Thing is, this isn’t the case… as far as we know.
Spectre ended with Bond retiring and leaving the 007 position vacant. MI6 promoting another agent to the title of 007 only makes sense. That said, this doesn’t confirm or debunk the wild theories that claim that Bond will die in his next movie, hypothetically letting Nomi inherit the mantle for good and usher the franchise to a new generation.
2 ‘No Time To Die’ Is (Not) Daniel Craig’s Final Bond Movie
Bolstering the aforementioned theory is the fact that Daniel Craig seems to have a love/hate relationship with Bond. In the now infamous interview with Time Out during the build up to Spectre, Craig said he’d only do a sequel if he were paid an astronomical amount of money. He eventually returned, but only after an almost five-year long hiatus from the franchise.
Even if he’s said that No Time To Die is his last Bond mission in interviews, it’s too early to tell if Craig’s decision is final. That said, the trailers’ sense of finality seems to be confirming this. Many speculate that unlike previous Bond Eras, Craig’s will end with a definite coda. Only time will tell if this means his Bond will die or not.
1 Bond Will Face His Irrelevance In The Movie
Popular as he is, many wonder why Bond is still a thing, given that he’s both a Cold War relic and an outdated symbol of masculinity. The Craig Era turned this gripe into its central theme, with an aging and vulnerable Bond facing his mortality and irrelevance more than once. No Time To Die has no intentions of dropping this idea, and may in fact double down.
In an interview, Fukunaga described his take on Bond as a “wounded animal” who’s struggling to readjust to the world of espionage after his retirement. Making Bond question his past actions and career path as a double-0 agent even more is Safin himself. In the trailer, Safin boasted that he made Bond redundant, since he can do everything Bond can but better and more brutally.