2021 marks the end of Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond, with the release of No Time To Die in the fall. But that doesn’t mean the 007 legacy will be taking a break any time soon, as it’s just been announced that a new story is heading into fans hands in 2022. Arriving in time for the 60th anniversary of Dr. No’s theatrical release, Bond is about to pick up where one of his classic literary adventures left off.
An announcement was made through Ian Fleming Publications that this new book, currently untitled at the moment, will be on shelves in May 2022. They picked the obviously perfect day to reveal the news too, as they chose the day would have been Fleming’s 113th birthday to make this big announcement. As far as the plot for this untitled volume is concerned, current Bond continuation author Anthony Horowitz gave the following details as to what’s in store this time out:
I am very excited to have started my third Bond novel with the continuing support of the Ian Fleming estate. Forever and a Day looked at Bond’s first assignment. Trigger Mortis was mid-career. The new book begins with the death of Scaramanga and Bond’s return from Jamaica to confront an old enemy.
Based on his statement above, it sounds like Anthony Horowitz’s new James Bond book will be set towards the later end of the agent’s career. Which is why it makes perfect sense for it to succeed 1963’s The Man with the Golden Gun, the basis for the 1974 Roger Moore/Christopher Lee film of the same name. As the final novel in Ian Fleming’s original run of books, and the tale where Bond defeated the villainous Francisco Scaramanga, this timestamp lends more weight to such a theory. In the absence of any confirmation, there’s two big questions that still hang in the air: who could that “old enemy” in Jamaica be, and could this adventure be the end of the line for Bond?
Much as he’s done in his past two installments, Anthony Horowitz is giving readers a James Bond adventure that flanks another iconic entry in Ian Fleming’s original run of books. With Forever and a Day acting as a prequel to Casino Royale, and Trigger Mortis seeing 007 in action mere weeks after Goldfinger, Horowitz is bringing new depth to the Bond canon in period piece adventures. This third untitled book already seeks to do the same, and with some interesting implications.
With No Time To Die hitting theaters in October, there was an idea that it may have been best to push the long awaited finale of Daniel Craig’s tenure into 2022, in the name of celebration. But now that Anthony Horowitz’s third James Bond novel has been announced, it looks like Bond fans won’t have to worry about whether they’ll be able to celebrate properly. Though they may want to take the time between now and then to brush up on their Ian Fleming, as well as catch up on the previous two Horowitz books.
No Time To Die opens in the UK on September 30th, and in the US on October 8th. Meanwhile, the untitled third James Bond novel by Anthony Horowitz is scheduled to be on shelves at some point in May 2022. And if you feel like taking in a movie to distract you from the long wait ahead, 2021’s release schedule is open and waiting, for your eyes only.
