After years of delays, Bond 25 finally began rolling cameras in April, and suffice it to say that this production has dealt with more problems than standard for putting together a major motion picture. The latest word surrounding Bond 25 is that singer and James Bond franchise alum Grace Jones was supposed to appear in 007’s latest cinematic adventure, but then quit only moments after arriving on set.
Longtime James Bond fans will remember that Grace Jones previously played May Day in 1985’s A View to Kill, the seventh and last movie to star Roger Moore’s iteration of James Bond. Back in April, it was rumored that Jones was going to cameo in Bond 25, although given that the Daniel Craig Bond films are set in a separate continuity, it was unclear if she would play someone brand-new (the more likely option) or, similar to Judi Dench reprising M, if she’d be a different version of May Day.
Either way, supposedly things went sideways on getting Grace Jones back for Bond 25. According to The Sun, Jones exited the movie after she learned that, rather than having a big role, she was only brought in to cameo for a scene believed to involve the star himself, Daniel Craig.
Grace Jones’ departure reportedly left those overseeing Bond 25 “frustrated,” as they spent a lot of time and money securing her a “luxury residence” near Pinewood Studios, where Bond 25 is shooting, and provided the red carpet treatment to make her feel welcome. As one source put it:
Grace’s 007 homecoming was meant to be a real crowd-pleasing moment. Bosses were really excited about landing her.
Keep in mind that Grace Jones was never officially announced to appear in Bond 25, although if her role indeed was a cameo at best, presumably the folks behind the movie wanted to keep her involvement a surprise. In any case, assuming this information is legitimate, then Jones won’t be appearing in Bond 25 at all due to a miscommunication about her screen time.
As mentioned earlier, this is the latest shakeup surrounding Bond 25. In May, Daniel Craig injured his ankle while filming in Jamaica, and following minor surgery and rehabilitation, he’s back to playing James Bond, with this movie serving as his fifth and final outing as the character. Then at the beginning of June, a crew member was injured during the filming of a controlled explosion.
It was also reported that at one point, director Cary Funkunaga arrived hours late to set after getting engrossed in playing video games, which supposedly led filming needing to be made up on Father’s Day weekend, which angered the crew. Fukunaga has denied that this happened, saying that any long hours are already in the schedule. Before this Grace Jones news came out, the latest Bond 25 controversy was a hidden camera being found in a women’s bathroom on the Bond 25 set.
As far as Bond 25’s plot goes, the latest James Bond flick will see 007 jumping back into action after his old friend Felix Leiter recruits him to find an abducted scientist. Along with Daniel Craig being accompanied by familiar faces like Jeffrey Wright, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kenner, the cast also includes Rami Malek, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch and David Dencik, among others.
Bond 25 hits theaters on April 8, 2020, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, you can find out what’s coming out sooner by looking through our 2019 release schedule.
