Daniel Craig says that, of all the James Bond movies he’s been in, No Time to Die subverts the most tropes that often define the classic spy. No Time to Die‘s release is momentous for two reasons. On one hand, the movie is finally premiering after countless delays over the past year and a half. On the other, it marks the last time Craig will ever play James Bond. Though Craig famously spoke against returning to Bond after 2015’s Spectre, he returned for No Time to Die so he could properly conclude his Bond’s story.
Ever since 2006’s Casino Royale, Craig’s iteration of the iconic character has stood apart from past versions. He was a bit more serious than normal, and he had storylines that extended from one film to another. Even the start of No Time to Die will find him in an unusual place; by the time the movie begins, Bond has retired and started a new life with his love Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). Naturally, it won’t be long before he returns to MI6, but there will be some intrigue before that.
Speaking about No Time to Die with Total Film and GamesRadar+, Craig touched upon how the character of Bond has evolved since he stepped into the role. The question was about what he hopes for the future of Bond, though the actor simply said that “it has nothing to do with me.” When it comes to his time as 007, though, Craig had this to say:
I think that’s what we’ve done. I was given a chance, an incredible opportunity when I was given this role, to do something different with it, and that I’ll be forever grateful for. I wanted to, not bring it up to date in an obvious way, but to make it as relevant as possible.
First and foremost, we make Bond movies, and Bond movies have all of these things that go on and tropes, and I wanted to subvert every single one of them. And I think we achieved that, over the years. And with this one we’ve gone even further…
No Time to Die already looks to be shaking up the Bond mythology in a few ways, perhaps most notably in its female characters. In addition to returning players like Madeleine and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), No Time to Die introduces CIA agent Paloma (Ana de Armas) and Nomi (Lashana Lynch), one of MI6’s new double-0s. Nomi especially appears to be bucking the typical Bond format, though as Craig hinted, there are bound to be even more swerves away from the familiar mold in No Time to Die.
The long-awaited Bond movie arrives in U.K. theaters this week before debuting in the U.S. on October 8. After all this time, it’s almost hard to believe No Time to Die is finally on the verge of release. Audiences will soon get to share their thoughts on the movie’s differing takes on familiar Bond tropes, as well as Craig’s ending. There’s much interest in seeing how his story will end, which could be a subversion in and of itself. Fans will find out for themselves in the coming weeks.
Source: GamesRadar+
Key Release Dates
- No Time to Die/James Bond 25 (2021)Release date: Oct 08, 2021
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