Top 10 Things To Remember Before Seeing No Time to Die

Our number ten entry takes us from the big screen to the smaller, albeit with the caveat that HBO’s “True Detective” tells cinematic stories in an epic way. All eight episodes of the first, and arguably best season, were directed by the, at the time, relatively unknown Cary Joji Fukunaga. The first American director of an Eon Bond film may seem like an unconventional choice to take the helm of “No Time to Die,” after previous director Danny Boyle left the production over creative differences but Fukunaga was actually considered for “Spectre” before Sam Mendes returned to do one more. Looking back on “True Detective,” there was action, espionage and tension aplomb, so maybe this choice wasn’t quite so unconventional after all.

For the uninitiated, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the writer and star of “Fleabag,” a comedy-drama that began life as a one-woman play before evolving into a TV series. She was also the creative force behind spy-thriller series “Killing Eve,” as the first season’s head writer. It was this endeavour that hooked Daniel Craig’s attention, who then asked for Waller-Bridge to polish the script for “No Time to Die.” Initial suggestions that her input was to try and make Bond’s universe a little more diverse for a post #metoo world, but Craig quickly shut that argument down. For the lead actor, having this writer involved is simply a matter of assimilating her wit and using her talent.

Legendary composer Hans Zimmer is joining the 007 Franchise, at long last. This comes off the news that original composer Dan Romer left over creative differences during post-production. Zimmer has already released his take on the famous “Gunbarrel” sequence, as well as helping Billie Eilish produce the movie’s theme. Incidentally, it might be worth hearing the theme again, considering the song was released over a year ago. Zimmer may also reintroduce the classic brassy flair that long time Bond composers John Barry and David Arnold leaned so much into, but was noticeably absent from Sam Mendes movies which were scored by Thomas Newman.

Although part of the long amount of time between the release of “No Time to Die” and the previous instalment of “Spectre” was due to COVID-19, the six year gap between the events of both films is also in service of the story. Significant time has passed between the closing moments of the previous film when we saw Bond jump into his classic Aston Martin DB5 with Madeleine Swann and ride off into the streets of London. If rumours are to be believed, enough time has passed for someone to perhaps—say—raise a family... and retire from the spy game...

With Daniel Craig, we've seen this iteration of James Bond on his first mission to obtain his licence to kill, during the events of “Casino Royale.” Considering he is a Naval Commander then, it is a safe bet that Bond is in his mid 30s, which aligns with Ian Fleming’s initial description. A few films later, and a pre-M Mallory is telling Bond that his job is a game for the young. Much is made of his more advanced age in 2012’s “Skyfall.” The first blonde Bond is now grey, suggesting that this may be an older agent than any version we have seen before, in Canon of course—Moore was nearly 60 when he bowed out in "A View to a Kill."

As we've already seen in the trailers, and already alluded to in this list, the Aston Martin DB5—with all of its trimmings—makes another appearance in “No Time to Die.” The car is as classic as Bond’s vodka martini, or Q’s constant disappointment that his gadgets are not returned in pristine order. Speaking of which, the car was first introduced by Q in “Goldfinger” and has appeared sporadically ever since. In this rebooted timeline, Bond wins the DB5 in a poker game during “Casino Royale.” It has since appeared in both “Skyfall” and “Spectre.” It looks as though it will have more of a role than just simple fanservice as Bond uses the modified car to escape his enemies.

It should hardly be surprising to anyone that the continuity of Bond is lax at best. 007 meets Blofeld in "You Only Live Twice," only to re-meet him for the first time in "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service." At the end of that film, Bond marries Tracy who then dies in his arms after a drive-by shooting at the hands of Blofeld. Her death is referenced by Moore's, Dalton's and Brosnan’s Bond. The backstory between the Craig-era Blofeld and Bond takes that relationship back even further as they were adopted brothers. And from what we’ve seen in trailers, it’s now a consultant-consulted relationship.

The Pale King of “Spectre” is a reference to Mr. White, the shadowy operative who worked for Blofeld, but outsourced to Quantum as well. He has stalked Bond as far back as “Casino Royale,” and prompted Daniel Craig to utter the famous line—altogether now— “The name’s Bond, James Bond.” He is also the father of Madeleine Swann, 007’s love interest who manages to be one of a very small number of women in Bond’s life that is in more than one movie. The daughter of an assassin has become the lover of a secret agent, but from what is heard in the trailer it seems the apple has not fallen far from the tree.

There is a considerable amount of hinting going on that plays into the rumour that Rami Malek's Safin is actually the original Bond villain: Dr. No. Their physical appearances are somewhat similar, and a few of his lines in the trailer are heavily implicit. Coincidence? Maybe, but it wouldn't hurt to remind ourselves of the events of “Dr. No” before seeing the new instalment. Oh, and the style of mask he's wearing is based on Japanese Noh theatre, as if they weren’t deliberately trying to entice us even more. Of course, this could all be a red herring, but there’s something poetic about having Bond’s twenty-fifth villain being the same as his first.

Despite his comment of wanting to “slash [his] wrists” than play Bond again, “No Time to Die” is officially Daniel Craig's last outing as Bond. Through his incarnation we have truly seen the full espionage life of 007. What happens next is anyone’s guess. Will we see a complete 180, and have a spin-off set up with a different character? After all, the codename of 007 is now taken by the debuting character Nomi. When original director Danny Boyle and Eon Productions parted ways over creative differences in 2018, the main reason given was that Bond’s death was scripted in. Whichever party took issue with that is important, as we could be seeing—for the first time—the character dying before a new James Bond is announced.