When will No Time To Die hit cinemas? The film’s had more delays than Bond’s had shaken martinis, but Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 is nearly upon us. What’s this new film about though, and how does it bring James Bond back after his dramatic retirement at the end of Spectre?
Well, if you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. That’s right, we’ve been through MI6’s most classified personnel files to find out all the details we can on the 25th film in the James Bond series. It’s been a relatively troubled production with a change in directors, several delays to the start of filming, and a whole host of hold-ups around its release.
But like Bond himself, you can’t keep a good series down, and No Time To Die managed to overcome all obstacles eventually to finally get a release. So grab the keys to the Aston Martin (you don’t have one?), put on your best tuxedo, and don’t forget your license to kill. Here’s everything we know about No Time To Die.
When will No Time To Die be released?
No Time to Die is scheduled for release on September 30 2021, here in the United Kingdom, and October 8 in the US. It’s been something of a tumultuous journey for Daniel Craig’s last James Bond adventure.
The movie was originally slated for release in November 2019, but that was before director Danny Boyle had left the project. After creative differences caused him to step away, Universal delayed it until early 2020 to get everything in order.
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Unfortunately, the spread of Covid-19 and the World Health Organisation declaring a pandemic meant the film had to be further delayed until November 2020. As the pandemic worsened, the film was then delayed again to April 2020.
When it became clear that cinemas in the US and UK would not be fully reopened by that date, it was finally delayed until October 8, 2021. In the UK, though, the release was brought forward after the successful reopening of the country’s screens.
Another good piece of news for UK fans is that tickets are on sale for the upcoming spy movie. That’s right, you can snap yourself a seat for the flick now before September 30.
Where’s the No Time To Die trailer?
Considering it was supposed to be released over a year ago, you won’t be surprised to find out that we have not one but two trailers for No Time To Die. The first, released on December 9, 2019, lays out the film’s basic plot, teases the big bad guy, and shows off one of the movie’s bigger action set pieces.
The second trailer, released nearly a year later on September 3, 2020, showcased more of the films’ top-notch action and focused more on Ana De Armis’ character, who seems to have joined 007 on his mission.
Craig’s last outing as Bond got one more final trailer in August 2021. Billed as the “final” No Time To Die trailer, the short clip reaffirmed that the film is going ahead with an Autumn release despite fears over rising Covid-19 cases.
Who’s in the No Time To Die cast?
Daniel Craig is returning for one final outing as the roguish MI6 agent James Bond. He’ll be facing off against Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin, a terrorist who’s got personal history with Dr Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). Producer Barbara Brocolli told Empire that Safin is a “really nasty piece of work” who really gets under Bond’s skin.
Léa Seydoux’s character will also play an essential role in the film, with director Cary Joji Fukunaga told Fandango he plans on using her to explore Bond’s trauma over losing Vesper all the way back in Casino Royale. Lashana Lynch is also joining the cast as the new 007 who was assigned the codename after Bond’s retirement. Ana de Armas is also set to star as Paloma, who will play a key role in Bond’s mission if the trailers are anything to go by.
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There’s a whole cavalcade of familiar faces returning. Of course, Ben Wishaw is back at the nerdy gadgeteer Q. Ralph Finnes reprises the role of M, while Naomie Harris and Rory Kinnear are also returning as Moneypenny and Bill Tanner.
The big returning character is Christoph Waltz as Bond’s archenemy and foster brother Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Last we saw of the former leader of SPECTRE; he’d had an awful car accident and was being arrested by MI6. While he might be in prison, for now, we don’t think the filmmakers would be bringing back such a major character in the Bond mythos if they didn’t have big plans for him.
Behind the camera, Cary Joji Fukunaga has replaced Sam Mendes, who directed Spyfall and Spectre, as the film’s director. It was originally planned for Danny Boyle to write and direct the film; however, he left the project following creative differences with Universal.
Fukunaga brought in writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to help him pen the story, while Daniel Craig tasked Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge with polishing up the dialogue, working on character relationships and sharpening up the humour. This makes Waller-Bridge only the second woman ever to be credited on a Bond screenplay.
What’s No Time To Die about?
According to the official synopsis, No time to Die is set five years after the events of Spectre and the capture of Ernst Blofeld; Bond has retired and is living a peaceful life with Madeleine.
However, that peace comes crashing down when an old friend and CIA agent, Felix Leiter, asks him to help him track down Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. Bond is put on a collision course with Lyutsifer Safin, a deadly intelligent madman whose evil plans could kill millions.
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During an interview with Fandango, Craig explained that the film would directly address a lot of what was left unsaid at the end of Spectre. He went on to say he believes the film is “about the relationships and family” that his Bond has built up throughout his tenure.
The film’s trailers have set up the idea that Madeline has a big secret that she’s been keeping from her beloved Bond, with Seydoux claiming that fans are going to cry when they see what Fukunaga has in store for them.
Interestingly we do know that the film has a cold opening and that it will show Safin hunting Madeline when she was just a child, which raises interesting questions about how old Safin really is and what he means in the trailer when he says, “your skills will die with your body, while mine will survive long after I’m gone.”