In over 50 years on the big screen, the James Bond franchise has created more than its share of iconic things. From cool gadgets to vodka martinis there are just things you expect to see when you turn on a James Bond movie, but now it's possible that one of those icons, Bond's Aston Martin, might never be seen again after No Time to Die is released because Aston Martin as a company might be something very different by the time the next James Bond gets behind the wheel.
Like many other companies, the global pandemic has been rough going for Aston Martin. Yesterday, the automaker released its financial numbers, including a first half of the year loss equal to nearly $300 million. The Aston Martin factory is closed due to the pandemic, and the company has seen a 41 perfect decrease in sales. Aston Martin's Lawrence Stroll said during the recent earnings call that the company will be "aligning our sales with inventory with the associated impact on financial performance as we reposition for future success." Between the financial difficulties and the repositioning, the future is uncertain for Aston Martin.
At this point, it's certainly too early to know what that means, but it could certainly mean drastic changes for Aston Martin. Yahoo reports that central to the turnaround is the company's first 4x4, which will be focused at bringing more female buyers into the brand.
Between the financial losses that could simply make Aston Martin a much smaller company going forward, and the possibility that over the next few years the company could find success in a very different segment of the market. it's possible that the Aston Martin associated with James Bond could simply not exist by the time the next movie comes along. With the need to cast somebody new in the lead coming with the next film, and the fact that competition will likely be fierce, we'll probably see a longer than usual delay between the release of No Time to Die this fall and the next James Bond movie.
If Aston Martin isn't around in a few years, or if the company simply isn't making the luxury sports cars that James Bond loves, then perhaps we could see Bond driving something else. It wouldn't actually be the first time. During the Pierce Brosnan years, the James Bond franchise made a deal with BMW that put the spy in the German automakers' cars, but purists were not amused.
Because it will likely be a few years before any decision on this will need to be made, any number of things could happen in either direction, but it's certainly something to keep an eye on. So much about the entire world is going to be different when this is all over, and what James Bond drives certainly is a minor detail, but it could certainly be one of the things we lose because of all this.
