No Time to Die

For other uses, see No Time to Die (disambiguation).

No Time to Die
Character poster
Directed by	Cary Joji Fukunaga
Written by	Neal Purvis Robert Wade Cary Joji Fukunaga Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Produced by	Michael G. Wilson Barbara Broccoli
Starring	Daniel Craig Rami Malek Léa Seydoux Lashana Lynch Ben Whishaw Ana de Armas Naomie Harris Jeffrey Wright Christoph Waltz Ralph Fiennes
Cinematography	Linus Sandgren
Edited by	Tom Cross Elliot Graham
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Production companies	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Eon Productions
Distributed by	United Artists Releasing (United States) Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates	2 April 2020 (2020-04-02) (United Kingdom) 10 April 2020 (2020-04-10) (United States)
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$250 million

No Time to Die is a forthcoming spy film and the twenty-fifth instalment in the James Bond film series produced by Eon Productions. It features Daniel Craig in his fifth and final outing as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, and Christoph Waltz reprise their roles from previous films, with Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Dali Benssalah, Billy Magnussen, and Ana de Armas joining the cast.

Development of the film began and was confirmed in 2016. It will be the first film in the series to be internationally distributed by Universal Pictures, which acquired the rights following the expiration of Columbia Pictures' contract after the release of Spectre. In the United States, United Artists Releasing holds the rights, including worldwide digital and television rights. Universal will also release the film on physical home media worldwide. Danny Boyle was originally attached to direct and co-write the screenplay with John Hodge. Both left due to creative differences in August 2018 and Fukunaga was announced as Boyle's replacement a month later. The majority of the cast had signed on by April 2019. Principal photography lasted from April to October 2019 under the working title of Bond 25. The official title was announced to be No Time to Die in August 2019.

The film will have its world premiere in London on 31 March 2020 at the Royal Albert Hall, followed by the theatrical release globally from 2 April 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 10 April 2020 in the United States.

Premise

Some time after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, James Bond has left active service. He is approached by Felix Leiter, his friend and a CIA officer, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev was abducted, Bond must confront a danger the likes of which the world has never seen before.

Cast

• Daniel Craig as James Bond. Formerly known as agent 007, he retired some time after the events of Spectre.
• Rami Malek as Safin, an adversary of Bond. Producer Barbara Broccoli described the character as "the one that really gets under Bond's skin. He's a nasty piece of work." Malek described the character as someone who "[considers] himself as a hero almost in the same way that Bond is a hero."
• Léa Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann, a psychiatrist and Bond's love interest who assisted him in his mission in the film Spectre.
• Lashana Lynch as Nomi, a '00' agent who entered active service after Bond's retirement.
• Ben Whishaw as Q, the MI6 Quartermaster who outfits Bond with equipment for use in the field.
• Ana de Armas as Paloma, a CIA agent assisting Bond. De Armas described her character as "irresponsible" and "bubbly" and playing a key role in Bond's mission.
• Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, M's assistant and Bond's ally.
• Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, Bond's friend and a CIA field officer.
• Christoph Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's archenemy and foster brother. He is head of the criminal syndicate Spectre and is now in MI6 custody.
• Ralph Fiennes as M, the head of MI6 and Bond's superior officer.
• Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, the MI6 chief of staff.
• Dali Benssalah as Primo, a military man and an adversary whom Bond first encounters in Matera.
• David Dencik as Valdo Obruchev, a scientist whose disappearance Bond investigates.
• Billy Magnussen as Logan Ash

Production

Development

Development of No Time to Die began in the spring of 2016. Sony Pictures' contract to co-produce the James Bond films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Eon Productions expired with the release of Spectre; in April 2017, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Annapurna Pictures entered a bidding competition to win the distribution rights. It was announced that MGM had secured the domestic, digital and worldwide television rights to the film subsequently through its distribution arm United Artists Releasing. Universal was announced as the international distributor and holder of the rights for physical home entertainment worldwide.

Cary Joji Fukunaga, director of No Time to Die

In March 2017, screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade—who have worked on every Bond film since The World Is Not Enough (1999)—were approached to write the script. Sam Mendes stated that he would not return after directing Skyfall and Spectre. Christopher Nolan ruled himself out to direct. By July 2017, Yann Demange, David Mackenzie, and Denis Villeneuve were courted to direct the film. In December 2017, Villeneuve opted out of the role due to his commitments to Dune.

In February 2018, Danny Boyle was established as a frontrunner for the directing position. Boyle's original pitch to Broccoli and Wilson saw John Hodge writing a screenplay based on Boyle's idea, with Purvis and Wade's version scrapped. Hodge's draft was greenlit and Boyle was confirmed to helm the film with a production start date of December 2018. However, Boyle and Hodge left the production in August 2018 due to creative differences. During Boyle's time as director, a leaked casting sheet described the male leading role as a "cold and charismatic Russian" and the female leading role as a "witty and skillful survivor". Production also sought male supporting roles of Māori descent with "advanced combat skills". It was reported at the time that Boyle's exit was due to the casting of Tomasz Kot as the lead villain; however, Boyle later confirmed the dispute was over the script.

Following Boyle's departure, the film's release date became contingent on whether the studio could find a replacement within sixty days. Cary Joji Fukunaga was announced as the new director in September 2018. Fukunaga became the first American in the history of the series to direct an Eon Productions Bond film and the first director to receive a writing credit for any version. Fukunaga was previously considered for Spectre before Mendes was brought back after Skyfall. Regardless, Fukunaga had expressed an interest to Broccoli and Wilson about directing a future Bond film. Linus Sandgren was hired as cinematographer in December 2018.

Purvis and Wade were brought back to start working on a new script with Fukunaga in September 2018. Casino Royale screenwriter Paul Haggis turned in an uncredited rewrite in November 2018, with Scott Z. Burns doing the same in February 2019. At Craig's request, Killing Eve writer and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge provided a script polish in April 2019. Waller-Bridge was hired to revise dialogue, work on character development and add humour to the script. Waller-Bridge is the second female screenwriter credited with writing a Bond film after Johanna Harwood co-wrote Dr. No and From Russia with Love. At the Bond 25 launch event, regarding the Me Too movement, Barbara Broccoli said that Bond's attitude towards women would move with the times and the films should reflect that. In a separate interview, Waller-Bridge argued that Bond was still relevant and that "he needs to be true to this character", instead suggesting that it was the films which had to grow and evolve, emphasising "the important thing is that the film treats the women properly".

The film entered production under the working title of Bond 25. The film's official title was announced as No Time to Die on 20 August 2019. No Time to Die shares its title with a 1958 film directed by Terence Young, produced by Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and written by Richard Maibaum, respectively the original director, producer and writer of some of the early James Bond films.

Casting

After Spectre, there was speculation that it was Daniel Craig's final Bond film. Immediately after the film’s release, Craig had complained about the rigours of performing the part, saying he would rather "slash [his] wrists" than play Bond again. In May 2016, it was reported that Craig had received a $100 million offer from MGM to do two more Bond films, but turned it down, suggesting that Spectre may have been his last. In October 2016, Craig denied having made a decision but praised his time in the role, describing it as "the best job in the world doing Bond". He further denied that $150 million was offered to him for the next two installments. In August 2017, Craig confirmed that the upcoming film will mark his final appearance as Bond on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He reiterated his position in November 2019. With Craig's departure, Broccoli said that No Time to Die would wrap up several loose narrative threads from the previous Craig Bond films, and "come to an emotionally satisfying conclusion".

Rami Malek plays villain Safin, described as "a nasty piece of work" and "the one who really gets under Bond's skin" and as "The one who thinks he's a saviour of humanity"

It was reported that Christoph Waltz had signed on to return as Ernst Stavro Blofeld for further Bond films on condition that Craig returned. Despite Craig's definite casting as Bond, Waltz announced in October 2017 that he would not return as Blofeld.

In December 2018, Fukunaga revealed in an interview that Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes would all be reprising their roles in the film, with Fukunaga not ruling out a possible return from Waltz's Blofeld. Fukunaga also disclosed that Léa Seydoux would be reprising her role as Madeleine Swann, making her the first female lead to appear in successive Bond films. Rory Kinnear returns as Bill Tanner, as does Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. Wright makes his third appearance in the series after Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace and becomes the first actor to play Felix Leiter three times.

Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen and Rami Malek were announced as cast members in a live stream, at Ian Fleming's Goldeneye estate in Jamaica. The event was on 25 April 2019 and marked the official start of production. Malek was further announced as playing the film's villain. Malek revealed in an interview that his character would not be connected to any religion or ideology.

Waltz's casting as Blofeld was not announced at the press launch but was officially revealed in the film's trailer in December 2019.

Filming

Production was scheduled to begin on 3 December 2018 at Pinewood Studios, but filming was delayed until April 2019 after the departure of Boyle as director. The film is the first in the series to have sequences shot with 65mm IMAX film cameras. Fukunaga and Sandgren pushed for using film over digital to enhance the look of the film.

No Time to Die features the Aston Martin Valhalla

Filming locations included Italy, Jamaica, Norway and London, in addition to Pinewood Studios. In addition scenes were filmed in the Faroe Islands in late September 2019. Production commenced in Nittedal, Norway, with the second unit capturing scenes at a frozen lake. Principal photography officially began on 28 April 2019 in Port Antonio, Jamaica. Daniel Craig sustained an ankle injury in May whilst filming in Jamaica and subsequently underwent minor surgery. Production was further interrupted when a controlled explosion damaged the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios and left a crew member with minor injuries. Production returned to Norway in June 2019 to shoot a driving sequence along the Atlantic Ocean Road featuring an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Aston Martin also confirmed that the DB5, DBS Superleggera and Valhalla models would feature in the film.

Production then returned to the United Kingdom in late June. Scenes featuring Craig, Fiennes, Harris and Kinnear were filmed around London, including Whitehall and Hammersmith., and filming took place in July in the town of Aviemore and in the surrounding Cairngorms National Park area where temporary accommodation units were constructed in a car park in the town for the production crew of around 300. Some scenes were also captured at the Ardverikie House Estate and on the banks of Loch Laggan, just outside the park. There was further filming at Buttersteep Forest, Ascot, during August 2019.

The second unit moved to southern Italy in late August, where they began to shoot a chase sequence involving an Aston Martin DB5 through the streets of Matera. The main unit, Craig and Seydoux arrived in early September to film scenes inside several production-built sets, as well as further sequences in Maratea and Gravina in Puglia.

Between 8 and 25 September, some scenes were shot in the town of Sapri in southern Italy, including the town's "midnight canal" and railway station. The name of the city has been changed to "Civita Lucana" for the film.

Principal photography wrapped on 25 October 2019 at Pinewood Studios. Further pick-up shots at Pinewood were confirmed by Fukunaga on 20 December 2019.

Music

In July 2019, Dan Romer was announced as composer for the film's score having previously scored Fukanaga's Beasts of No Nation and Maniac. Romer left the film due to creative differences in November 2019. His replacement was announced as Hans Zimmer in January 2020. It is the first time in the Bond series history that a composer has been replaced during post-production and the second major personnel change for the film after Boyle left as director.

In January 2020, Billie Eilish was announced as the performer of the film's theme song. Eilish is credited as co-writer with her brother, the track's producer, Finneas O'Connell. The song, also titled "No Time to Die", was released on 13 February 2020. At the age of eighteen, Eilish is the youngest artist to record a Bond film title track.

Release

The theatrical release date for No Time to Die was confirmed as globally from 2 April 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 10 April 2020 in the United States. The release was originally scheduled for November 2019, but was pushed back to February 2020, and then to April 2020 after Boyle's departure.

Marketing

DHL became the official logistics partner for the film. They changed the livery for their vehicles to show the 007 logo, when delivering equpment for the film during production, with tagline "Delivered. Simply delivered".

The 007 logo appeared on the Red Bull Racing Formula One cars in the place of the Aston Martin logos at the 2019 British Grand Prix. The cars also had Bond-themed number plates on the underside of their rear wings. Max Verstappen had the number plate from the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger while Pierre Gasly’s car featured the Aston Martin V8 plate from The Living Daylights. Both drivers wore special racing overalls with a print of a single-breasted dinner suit.

See also

• List of James Bond films
• Outline of James Bond
• Portrayal of James Bond in film
• Production of the James Bond films

External links

• James Bond official website
• No Time to Die at IMDb