James Bond will hit the big screen in April 2020 for the suave spy’s 25th cinematic adventure, No Time to Die. The official trailer has already been released and teases the return of both Léa Seydoux and Christoph Waltz from Spectre. The movie will also bring Bond’s CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright back into the mix as Leiter enlists Bond’s help to discover what happened to an abducted scientist. The movie will be the last of Daniel Craig’s outings, marking him as the longest running James Bond, playing the role for 14 years. While Fleabag/Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s punch ups to the script are tight-lipped, what can we expect from No Time to Die?
Death-Defying Action
One thing that the trailer has promised us is a lot of action. From car chases to gunfights, action is at the heart of the Bond movies. This set him apart from other espionage heroes, who solved riddles and followed clues in hushed tones and large coats. Bond has always stopped villains with his athleticism and ability to survive almost any situation—from snakes to spiders, from parachute-less free falls to duels in space.
The trailer is peppered with punchy lines, shots of Bond wielding weapons, and huge explosions. You are left none the wiser about the key details of the plot, but you know that there will be enough excitement throughout the movie. Most of this action seems to take place in a variety of exotic locations. The production has been stationed in Italy, a favorite of the Bond movies, and its announcement was live-streamed from Jamaica, where they also did some of the filming.
High Stakes Casino
The casino is a key feature of the Bond movies. In fact, we first heard Sean Connery utter the illustrious phrase ‘Bond, James Bond,’ in a casino in the opening scenes of 1962’s Dr. No. Since then, every incarnation of Bond has had a scene in a casino. The timeless nature of the idea of playing high-stakes, high-adrenaline games helps to characterize Bond as someone who is capable of making such decisions, while also being someone smart and logical.
Craig’s 2006 debut, Casino Royale, saw Bond playing in a high stakes Texas Hold’em poker tournament. Texas Holdem is often described as “a thinking man’s game” due to the strategy and skill needed in order to progress very far. So, we would hope that No Time to Die returns us to the thinking man’s James Bond that we enjoyed in 2006.
The March 31, 2020 premiere at the Royal Albert Hall will mark a milestone in the lifespan of James Bond, as Daniel Craig’s final movie is shown. The direction the franchise might take after this is up in the air. Some are calling for a reimagining of the character of Bond – including previous Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. Others may wonder what Bond’s place in an ever-changing world will be. But, there is no doubt that as the movies continue with a new actor in the role of James Bond, we can guarantee that the character will take part in some death-defying action and then relax in a casino, James Bond-style.
