London has a regal heir to it. Though it’s wholly modern, the 2000-year-old city’s architecture and cobblestone streets are a dazzling reminder of its history. They stand elegant and proud — relics of a past time, demanding that we exist without disturbing the archives of the biggest city in Western Europe. The timelessness of London also lives within one of its most beloved fictional characters— James Bond.
James Bond was brought to life by novelist Ian Fleming, who dreamed up the British secret agent on the beaches of Ocho Rios, Jamaica, back in 1953. Now, almost seventy years later, we’re still embracing the character, currently portrayed on film by the debonair and brilliant, Daniel Craig.
For the British actor’s fifth and final turn as the MI6 agent in No Time to Die, we’ll find Bond in a very different place than we’ve ever seen him before — physically and emotionally. Set some time after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre, Bond has left the MI6. He’s restlessly settled into retirement when he’s approached by the CIA’s Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to aid in the search and rescue of a missing scientist. What unfolds next is unlike anything Bond has ever encountered.
Ahead of No Time to Die’s April 2, 2020 debut, BlackFilm.com visited Pinewood Studios just outside of London. Following a delicious meal at Rules — the oldest restaurant in the city, a visit to the cleverly crafted Bond in Motion exhibit, and a tour of the studios –which included everything from an inside look at those stunning Tom Ford suits to a fleet of Aston Martins, we sat down with No Time to Die producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. We spoke about Craig’s fiery finale, and how the franchise will press forward, honoring the multicultural 21st-century audiences who adore these characters. “It’s the 25th film, and it’s the 57th year,” Broccoli reflected. “The first movie came out in 1962, and we’re still excited about James Bond and still making these movies. No Time to Die is the fifth one with Daniel — so it’s been quite fun. We’re about to shoot the opening gun barrel sequence, and we’re in the process of looking at all various opportunities for the movie’s theme song.”
Since this is Craig’s last outing as 007 — Broccoli and Wilson’s responsibilities go much further than delivering an epic closing to this chapter of James Bond. They’ve also been tasked with looking ahead. Thankfully, the world of Bond has always been ahead of its time. “We’ve always tried to have diversity in the films,” Wilson reflected. “We’ve always had international casts, and they’ve all been different ethnicities. So it’s nothing new. However, people are more sensitive to what they want to see, and when they see it — they point it out. I think we have a great diverse cast from all over the world. It’s in keeping with the times, but I think we’ve always been a little ahead of the times.”
Back in the 1970s, when Hollywood was only embracing Black people in Blaxploitation films — Bond was showcasing a romance between a white man and a Black woman on screen. “Look at Live and Let Die, which was 1973,” Broccoli explained. “It was one of the first interracial relationships, Bond with Gloria Hendry. I mean, it’s crazy.”
Now that we’re sitting in 2020— Broccoli and Wilson want to make sure that the Bond franchise continues to be progressive and fresh. Centering a Black woman — Lashana Lynch’s Nomi —a mysterious ’00’ agent who entered active service after Bond’s retirement is just one of the ways they are looking at the continued longevity of Bond. “Lashana is an extraordinary actress,” Broccoli said. “I was involved with a play at the Royal Court called Ear for Eye. I saw Lashana in it, and I was completely blown away by her performance. It was just groundbreaking. So when we were casting this role, I brought her in. Michael, Cary [Fukunaga], and everybody flipped for her; she’s an exceptional actress, and she’s got a great role in this film. It will be interesting to see what people think. Nomi’s a very highly qualified person in the story. She comes from a military background, and she’s highly able and gives Bond a run for his money.”
Lynch isn’t the only fresh face in No Time to Die. Knives Out breakout star, Ana de Armas also makes her Bond debut as Paloma, a CIA agent assisting Bond. “I met her a couple of years ago,” Broccoli explained. “I thought she was amazing. Daniel worked with her in Knives Out, and Carey was aware of her too. So when we talked about this character who is a Cuban agent, that is a friend to Felix Leiter, and we were looking for somebody, it became obvious. I mean she’s Cuban, she’s gorgeous, she’s a terrific actress. We all loved her.”
Neither de Armas nor Lynch are your traditional Bond girls. Paloma and Nomi can more than hold their own. “These women have trained like you can’t imagine,” Broccoli revealed. “They are absolutely in tip-top, peak condition, and they could take anyone on. It is not just strength; it’s flexibility. Your muscles have to be in good condition, you have to be able to stop and start. So it’s a constant training thing. And then they have weapons training. They have to look like they know how to shoot a weapon, and you want them to be safe, and you want them to look good. It’s been a long, intensive training program for both of them. Lashana is present throughout the movie, so hers was much longer. It started earlier. She had also trained a lot when she did Captain Marvel. So with her, it was a very broad range of training. And with Ana, she has one sequence in which she uses a lot of firearms, and she’s got to be very agile with flying kicks and all. They’re very impressive, both of them. They really went to town.”
Though London is the center of Bond’s world, No Time to Die is a global film bursting with various locations. “It’s challenging to film in Cuba,” Wilson explained. “Especially when you’re dealing with United States funding and the rules. We’ve been to Cuba; it’s a lovely place to visit as a tourist. However, we’ve had to recreate it in Jamaica. We very specifically wanted to go to Jamaica because it’s where Ian Fleming wrote the Bond novels. So we always call it the spiritual home of Bond. And it was in the first Bond film, Dr. No. So we felt like it was a time to come back and it was incredible. We were in Matera, Italy, where we have a big sequence and Scotland. We also went to Norway, which was incredible.”
No Time to Die will reveal a different side of the iconic character. “Bond always has to fight some deadly force,” Broccoli expressed. “So we certainly have that with Rami Malek, who’s an exceptional villain. But Bond also has a very, very profound emotional journey in this movie, which is as epic, I think, as the villain, he’s fighting. So we’ve really thrown everything out there.”
In No Time to Die, Bond uncovers something he never expected. “I think the story is really an accumulation of the past four films and this one,” Broccoli revealed. “So the five-film cycle, and I think the arc of his character — particularly the emotional arc of his character, is completed. We feel it’s a very satisfying conclusion to his movies; 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. I think he is really extraordinary in the movie. He’s never been better.”
No Time to Die debuts April 10, 2020.
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