Movies

No Time to Die, starring Daniel Craig
Title announcement and trailer: MGM/Universal

No Time to Die
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
Rated PG-13
Coming October 2021
Dossier prepared 25 October 2020 • Updated 21 January 2021
#NoTimeToDie • #Bond25 • #IMAX • @007

Official Site

007.com

Official Synopsis

In No Time to Die, James Bond “has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.” (Courtesy of MGM)

Release Dates

Originally set for theatrical release 3 April (Internationally) and 8 April (United States), the movie was the first major release to reschedule because of the Coronavirus pandemic and set 12 November (internationally) and 20 November (U.S.) as the new targets. With a COVID resurgence in key markets, including the United Kingdom, James Bond’s home turf, the release was pushed out again, to 2 April 2021 — a full year after the original release date and two years after filming began, with much fanfare, in Jamaica. But, on 21 January 2021, MGM announced yet another push — to 8 October 2021.

IMAX

Following the trend initiated by Christopher Nolan and adopted by virtually all of the major franchises, including Mission: Impossible, Wonder Woman and the latest iteration of Dune, No Time to Die features sequences shot using IMAX cameras for superior imagery and theatrical presentation on IMAX screens. There is a big difference (pun intended) between actually shooting in the IMAX format and enhancing a movie for presentation on IMAX screens (as with Skyfall and Spectre, for example).

Budget

The production reportedly cost $250 million — some estimates peg it as high as $300 million — so there’s a lot at stake for this one (beyond the usual “save the world” stuff). Factor in a sustantial marketing budget, which has already had a couple false starts with the delayed release, and there’s quite a bundle to earn back.

Challenges

After Sam Mendes elevated the Bond series to all new heights thematically and financially with Skyfall and Spectre, Bond 25 hit turbulence. Danny Boyle was originally going to direct. No doubt Boyle would’ve taken the series in an interesting, new direction. And that’s also probably the problem; he left over creative differences surrounding the script. Odd. They should’ve had that figured out in the early going. But, these things happen.

Cary Joji Fukunaga entered as Boyle’s replacment, no doubt on the strength of the widely acclaimed first season of True Detective. The big surprise is this makes Fukunaga the first American to direct a Bond flick. Pretty crazy piece of trivia right there.

With production underway, other troubles entered the fray. Craig injured his ankle, stopping production for a couple weeks. Then an explosion left a crew member injured. That was followed by an explosion that damaged the famed 007 stage at Pinewood Studios.

In Bond’s world, it’s all in the line of duty. COVID-19 is one more obstacle and it’s become a nefarious one that’s tricky to navigate.

Marketing

The schedule bumps have wreaked havoc with the movie’s marketing. Of course, Bond’s not alone. A line of Minions toys quietly hit store shelves during the summer — but the movie they support, Minions: The Rise of Gru, had already been pushed out to next summer. Wonder Woman’s already appeared on bags of Doritos, heralding the (then summer) release of Wonder Woman 1984. Tenet was pushed a couple times from its original July release, but still hit U.S. screens on 31 August (when 30% of theatres were still shuttered).

With Bond, it’s interesting to watch the ramp-up of the movie’s marketing machinery, only to have those efforts stymied. A couple times. Back in February, Billie Eilish’s title track was released. A sombre tune, it garnered all sorts of positive coverage for the youngest female ever to record a Bond title track. It’s a song in need of a movie. Then, at the end of September, a six-part podcast launched, timed for its final installment to coincide with the movie’s then-intended November release date. A few days later, Hans Zimmer’s version of the Gun Barrel theme from the movie’s soundtrack was released as a single.

But, with these efforts, at the very least they keep the Bond name out there with some legitimate new material. It’s sorta — vaguely — like the NFL’s play to always remain in the American psyche with carefully planned and staged events all year long (particularly with the draft event and, of course, the opening of training camps).

Naturally, there’s also Bond merchandise, but a lot of it is built around and on the backs of other top-shelf brands. There’s a new $220 Q Swatch watch, a new pressing of Royal Doulton’s bulldog (the cracked version from Spectre), and luxury items like a $6,300 backgammon set and a $1,000 silk robe fashioned after the one worn by Maud Adams in Octopussy.

In August, it was a little sad walking through theatre lobbies lined with posters for movies that should’ve been released months ago. But now, in October, it’s even more eerie to realize theatres are still working through an inventory of soda cups and popcorn tubs branded with Bond’s April 2020 return.

When theatres first reopened in August, it seemed unthinkable that Bond, Wonder Woman, Black Widow and other major draws would continue to see their schedules bounce. Now, even as New York State reopens theatres outside of New York City, things seem less certain than ever going into a prime holiday season with only two major releases — Death on the Nile and Wonder Woman 1984 — still scheduled for theatrical distribution in December.

[Update 21 January 2021: While WW84 finally hit the screens on 25 December 2020, Death on the Nile is now set for 17 September 2021.]

Bond Notes

After 24 Bond movies, it’s to the credit of long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson there are still reasons to get excited about Bond. No Time to Die offers a few notable firsts for the franchise and other points of interest.

• Craig’s Bond movies have turned into a solid series — with Skyfall arguably the best of all Bonds — featuring an overarching storyline that gives Bond a genuine character arc from a young royal boar to a seasoned agent fighting to maintain relevance in a world of high-tech espionage that short sells the human element.
• The movie will feature Hans Zimmer’s first Bond score.
• With Cary Fukunaga, this is the first Bond directed by an American.
• Select sequences were shot using IMAX cameras — a first for the series.
• Naomie Harris and Ana de Armas are established actresses who defy the old-school “Bond girl” traditions.
• It’s a certainty this will be Craig’s final Bond; it’ll be interesting to see how this one ends and if there’s any sort of tease as to what’s next for the franchise.

The Future

It had been assumed Daniel Craig was enlisted for the fourth and final time as Bond with Spectre and speculation swirled as to who would be his replacement. Given the cultural climate, there was also a significant push from some circles for a “non-traditional” casting choice, such as Idris Elba, who would become the first black Bond. This coming after all the hullabaloo surrounding Craig being the first blond Bond. And, of course, there was the change-up for M, transitioning from an old man (Bernard Lee then Robert Brown) to an old woman (Dame Judi Dench) back when Pierce Brosnan took over as Bond.

But, while diversity is a rallying cry that’s reaching a crescendo, Hollywood can’t get past its ageism. Bond is still, relatively, a “young man’s game.” Let’s look at the numbers (because that’s all age is — it’s just a frickin’ number, as Dr. Evil might say).

• Sean Connery was 32 when Dr. No was released, 41 for his sixth outing in Diamonds Are Forever (plus there was that “unofficial” return in Never Say Never Again at 53).
• George Lazenby was only 30 when his sole episode, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, hit the screens.
• Roger Moore was already 46 when The Saint star made his Bond debut in Live and Let Die; he was 58 at the time his seventh Bond, A View to a Kill, was released.
• Timothy Dalton was 41 when The Living Daylights opened and reinvigorated the character, but Licence to Kill disappointed two years later, followed by legal entanglements that sidelined the franchise for six years.
• Pierce Brosnan was 42 when he finally debuted as Bond in GoldenEye; his fourth and final Bond mission was seven years later.
• Daniel Craig was only 38 when he debuted as Bond in Casino Royale and he’ll be 53 when No Time to Die finally arrives in theatres in October 2021.

Elba is 48. If he were cast right now, he’d be the oldest actor ever to debut in the role. Does it still make sense to cast him? Probably not.

No doubt there’s a tug-of-war going on in the Bond camp. It’s a lost year for the series; No Time to Die is awaiting a long-delayed release; announcing the casting of a new Bond right now would be a sort of buzz kill for the Craig series. That pushes Elba out to at least 50 or 51 by the time his Bond debut would be ready. And Bond movies these days aren’t the rather casual action affairs that allowed Moore to carry on for so long. That’s largely why Dalton’s debut took a grittier turn (never mind the cello).

How about John David Washington? He’s only 36. And Tenet is the best Bond movie that has nothing to do with James Bond. But, then again, maybe it’s too soon to ask for an American to play Bond. Perhaps that’s a bridge too far.

Right now, only two things seem certain: the Bond franchise will continue and No Time to Die will be Craig’s last Bond.

But, as Connery’s Bond learned, never say never.

Daniel Craig and Cary Fukunaga discuss the series as production begins on Bond 25
Interview footage: MGM/Universal