We can now all retire our #Bond25 hashtags as, with just eight months to go before release, we now know the title of the twenty-fifth entry in the official James Bond movie franchise.
NO TIME TO DIE was revealed as the title of what will most likely be Daniel Craig’s last outing as Bond in a surprise low-key announcement on the EON Productions James Bond branded social media channels. The announcement was accompanied by a short animated clip of the title unfolding featuring Craig and a snippet of the Bond theme. (https://youtu.be/ChJ_afRiUzo)
Also included was an updated version of the previously released plot outline “In NO TIME TO DIE, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. “
The initial reaction to the title reveal has been mixed, with some finding it generic and too similar to several previous Bond movies, while others seeing it as a return to a more classic Bond style.
The choice of words has also started speculation as to what they could mean in relation to the few things we know about the movie’s plot.
Is DIE an indication that Daniel Craig’s last appearance as Bond will mean that the world’s most famous secret agent will meet the ultimate fate and close out the franchise?
Is the “mysterious villain” connected to the word NO in any way? We’ve already seen the return of one classic Bond villain in the Craig era, so why not another one?
Although the title NO TIME TO DIE has no apparent connection to anything written by Bond’s creator Ian Flaming, it actually has Bond related provenance. In 1958 future Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli was the producer on a war movie entitled No Time To Die (which was released under the title Tank Force in the US market). The director was Terrance Young, who would go on to direct the first Bond movie and two more after that; it was written by Young and Richard Maibaum the future writer of thirteen Bond movies. The cast included singer Anthony Newly who wrote the lyrics to the Goldfinger theme song, and Luciana Paluzzi who would later star as the unforgettable femme fatale, Fiona Volpe in Thunderball.
Is this all a coincidence, or is the title another call back to the history of those responsible for shepherding Bond’s adventures from the page to the screen?
Time will tell. NO TIME TO DIE will be released globally from April 3 2020 in the UK through Universal Pictures International and in the US on April 8, from MGM .
