Fancy gadgets, gorgeous British automobiles, even more gorgeous women and alcoholic beverages prepared to exacting specifications are all hallmarks of the James Bond franchise. and all will surely be present in April’s No Time To Die. So too will another hallmark of the Bond franchise: the pre-title sequence. And it looks like No Time To Die might wind up having the longest pre-title sequence of any James Bond movie.
The pre-title sequence has been a staple of the Bond franchise since the second entry, 1963’s From Russia with Love. The pre-title sequences are known for huge action scenes and wild stunts that start the movie off with a bang, while often operating in a standalone fashion that delineates them from the rest of the narrative. These pre-title sequences lead into the equally anticipated opening credits and theme song, and it seems that No Time To Die might have the longest ones to date.
According to the James Bond Live fan Twitter account on Twitter, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s No Time To Die will have the longest pre-title sequence of any James Bond movie yet, clocking in at a whopping 20 minutes. That’s 20 minutes of pure James Bond, all killer, no filler, giving you everything you want from this franchise before diving into the meat of the story in earnest following the titles.
If this report is accurate, not only will audiences be waiting quite a while to hear Billie Eilish and see the iconic Bond opening credits, but No Time To Die would sport the longest pre-title sequence of any movie in the franchise. It might seem crazy, but the 20-minute pre-title sequence runtime seems to be supported by a piece on the film by VG, a Norwegian site (the film shot scenes in Norway) that quotes No Time To Die producer Michael G. Wilson as also citing a 20-minute pre-title runtime.
Assuming this bears out in the final cut, wow, 20 minutes would be quite long. As cold opens go, that’s nearly the entire runtime of a half-hour comedy; at 20 minutes, this cold open will begin to thaw!
As far as I can tell, the previous record-holder for the longest pre-title sequence in the James Bond franchise belonged to 1999’s The World is Not Enough starring Pierce Brosnan. That film’s pre-title sequence ran roughly 15 minutes, so No Time To Die stands to eclipse that by quite a bit.
It’s tough to know what to make of a 20-minute pre-title sequence until we see No Time to Die to know what exactly it contains and how that impacts the rest of the movie, but I think it’s safe to say that a lot is going to happen before the opening credits roll. A long pre-title sequence would also match up with the unverified rumors that No Time To Die will be the longest film in the franchise at nearly three hours long.
If all of that proves true, we may be getting a super-sized dose of Bond and Daniel Craig for the actor’s last outing as the character. So presuming that the quality merits that extra length, it would be a fitting sendoff.
No Time To Die opens in theaters on April 10. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what other movies are coming out this year.
