Even before No Time To Die’s title was announced and Danny Boyle was still signed on as James Bond 25’s director, there was much speculation that Daniel Craig’s 007 could be killed off. Such a move has never been made in the history of the franchise, but following Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine kicking the bucket in Logan and Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man in Avengers Endgame, could Ian Fleming’s spy be about to go the same way? Certainly, there were rumours of the “creative differences” between Craig, 007 producers and Boyle being over whether or not to kill off Bond.
And considering they already had Judi Dench’s M die in Skyfall, will they go the whole hog and have Craig’s incarnation go out in a blaze of sacrificial glory?
Unlike previous James Bond movies, the incumbent’s era has been one long five-episode story arc over 14 years.
No Time To Die is somehow going to conclude the narrative that began with Casino Royale.
Now producer Barbara Broccoli has confirmed this in a new interview, which pushes speculation further that they could well kill off Craig’s Bond after all.
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Speaking with Mashable on the No Time To Die set, Broccoli teased: “The story is really an accumulation of the past four films and this one, so the sort of five-film cycle.
“I think the arc of his character, particularly the emotional arc of his character is really kind of completed.
“We feel it’s very satisfying conclusion to his movies, so hopefully the audiences will too.
“Obviously we care about each one of these films, but I think the fact that it is Daniel’s last has just given us all that extra bit of push to make it the best ever.”
Of course, if it’s not a typo, there’s the other possibility that A Day To Die is another title that was almost used.
This seems perfectly reasonable considering its likeness to not only No Time To Die, but also A Reason To Die.
The latter was another allegedly binned title from a leaked photo taken just before the Bond 25 live reveal in April, when they decided not to announce the film’s name just yet.
It’s also worth pointing out that the two alleged unused titles have a distinct difference from No Time To Die.
They’re saying the exact opposite – that Bond has a reason and a day to die, whereas No Time To Die implies his survival.
At the very least, No Time To Die is much more ambiguous than the other two.
And considering all those rumours that Craig’s Bond will die, maybe having no time to is a way to misdirect fans to save a spoiler? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
No Time To Die is released in UK cinemas on April 2, 2020.