What can you say about the upcoming release of No Time To Die that hasn’t already been speculated, analyzed, or concretely confirmed? Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film is an event the world has been waiting on for some time, so there’s been plenty of time to discuss the 25th 007 adventure and its potential effect on the series. A recent interview with franchise producer Barbara Broccoli has given the world a little more to discuss in the run up to Craig’s big swan song, especially since she’s confirmed that it’s truly going to be the end of an era.
During an interview with Total Film, Broccoli confirmed everything the advertising for No Time To Die has basically said: Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film will tie into everything he’s done before. While we’re not sure how co-writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s entry into the world of Bond will “change everything,” it’s a promise that’s been made often in the marketing for this very picture. As far as Barbara Broccoli is concerned, here’s how No Time To Die will connect to the rest of the Daniel Craig films:
This film feels like a good bookend to Casino [Royale], because his emotional evolution gets to a place where we’ve never seen Bond before. So that’s pretty exciting.
For a run that’s experimented a lot when it comes to what a James Bond movie truly could do, it’s only fitting that Daniel Craig gets to end his time as 007 the same way he started it: by taking huge risks. Much like 2006’s Casino Royale, it sounds like the work that’s gone into No Time To Die is ready to push the boundaries of the almost 60-year film franchise. But there’s another interesting remark that sets the table for what might be coming after the Craig cycle comes to a close.
In the same interview, Michael G. Wilson, co-producer/step brother to Barbara Broccoli, likened the entirety of the Daniel Craig films to a “miniseries within the series.” On the surface, that’s a perfect statement about how continuity has been allowed to flourish in the most recent iteration of James Bond history. However, the wording in Wilson’s statement does seem to indicate that once No Time To Die has had its day, the 007 legacy might revert to a more stand-alone approach that uses the five film “miniseries” as a foundation for tone and historical continuity.
If Daniel Craig had quit as he previously intended, ending things with Spectre would have given James Bond a happier, if not slightly incomplete, finale. Just as the actor was thankful to deliver a potentially earth shattering conclusion to his time as 007, there’s a chance that the fallout of Craig’s final Bond adventure might be something fans are just as thankful to witness. And if Lea Seydoux is correct in her assumption, there’s a chance that some tears may even be shed in the process.
All questions will be answered, all feelings processed, and Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond will draw to a close, as No Time To Die opens in the UK on September 30th and in the US on October 8th. But that shouldn’t stop you from finding another venue of excitement and danger through the 2021 release schedule.
