FULL SPOILERS FOR “NO TIME TO DIE”
Months after its release, the key people involved in “No Time to Die” have finally spoken about the film’s ending. The 25th Bond film overall and actor Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing in the role, the movie does legitimately do something not previously seen in the franchise – its kills off Bond.
In this case, it does so in a missile explosion so as to stop Bond’s love Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), their daughter, and millions around the world dying from the release of the lethal Heracles nanovirus. It was a twist that went effectively unspoiled until release, even with the movie having been completed and sitting in a vault for a year-and-a-half.
Now, speaking with Variety recently, Craig, director Cary Joji Fukunaga, and longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have finally talked about the decision.
Craig said after the premiere of “Casino Royale,” he asked Broccoli about how many of the films does he have to make to which she responded “four”. He then asked: “Can I kill him off in the last one?” to which she replied “Yes.” Explaining why he wanted that, Craig said: “When he goes, he can’t come back was really what it boils down to.”
Wilson explained how the death finally came about with this film:
“I think what happened was, at the end of the fourth one, we wanted Daniel back and he was very reluctant. I think we thought, all of us had thought, that that was the best way to end this whole thing.
Now, you know, it wasn’t unusual, because Fleming, he tried to kill him off in “From Russia With Love,” and almost killed him off in “You Only Live Twice.” But I think it’s the fitting way to deal with a situation where a person is risking their life all the time. Eventually, the odds catch up with you.
I think Fleming saw it and I guess ultimately we came to that realization, too. It’s also emotionally very important to understand the risks that people like Bond engage in.”
Fukunaga says when he came onboard, the death was a set factor but how Bond was to meet his demise wasn’t decided yet and there were “many, many iterations” with an “anonymous bullet” being one that came up a lot.
Craig then said they did it the way they did “because it couldn’t feel like a random act. It had to have weight – without it, it wasn’t gonna work… if we hadn’t have got that weight, I don’t think we would’ve done it.”
“No Time to Die” is currently available for digital rental and purchase pretty much everywhere.
