What's the connection between Swann, Safin and Blofeld in Nomi, to take down a dangerous new supervillain called Safin. So formidable is this new foe, MI6 are even forced to consult their star prisoner - Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played by a returning Christoph Waltz.
That all sounds par for the course when it comes to James Bond movies, but there are deeper layers to the espionage action and overblown evil masterplan. No Time To Die's key mystery involves a conspiracy between Safin, Blofeld and Swann, with the latest trailer confirming Safin's burning desire for revenge over Léa Seydoux's femme fatale for reasons currently unknown. Madeleine is harboring a secret from the past, and her subterfuge drives an emotional wedge between Bond and Swann. The plot thickens during Bond's conversation with Blofeld, when the villain confirms he's no fan of Safin either, and the trailer strongly suggests that Blofeld knows the truth behind Madeleine's big secret.
Despite not yet possessing all of the pieces, James Bond fans are busily trying to assemble No Time To Die's narrative puzzle. How were Safin and Swann connected in the past? Why does Safin want revenge? Where does Blofeld fit into this already messy situation? One potential answer is that Safin was once sent to kill Madeleine but failed - now he's back to finish the job.
No Time To Die's Latest Trailer Suggests Safin Is An Assassin
In James Bond tradition, the main villain of any given story will be a Don-like overseer, boasting an army of henchmen and assassins to do his bidding. While this appears true of Safin as well, evidence suggests that Rami Malek's villain is not afraid to get his own hands dirty either. In the No Time To Die trailers released so far, two very different versions of Safin appear. The first is the unmasked, scarred master criminal living in his elaborate secret lair. This Safin wants to "tidy up" the world and is seen calmly confronting Bond. The other side to Safin is the masked assassin seen loitering in dark corners with an automatic rifle, or shooting at a helpless target trapped under a sheet of ice. It's possible that both of these sequences are from the same present-day timeline in No Time To Die, but could the masked scenes be part of a flashback to Safin's past?
As an assassin, Safin is seen wearing a whole, unbroken mask, and then sporting the same item with part of the lower jaw cracked off. In a moment that's almost definitely set in the present, Safin presents this mask in a box to Madeleine Swann, who is brought to tears by the sight. Madeleine apparently hasn't seen this mask in quite some time, and the box arrangement implies that Safin hasn't worn it recently either. Therefore, Safin's days as a mask-wearing assassin might've concluded long before No Time To Die. Who was Safin working as a hit man for? How about Blofeld and SPECTRE?
Madeleine Swann Was Safin's Target
Madeleine Swann was not SPECTRE's biggest fan, and the feeling was entirely mutual from Blofeld's villainous club, who had several possible reasons to want her dead. Madeleine's father, Mr. White, was originally a SPECTRE operative, but became critical of Blofeld when the organization's methods started to become more callous. This split would eventually lead to Mr. White's own death in 2015's Spectre, and Blofeld subsequently set his sights on Madeleine, knowing that she had information that risked exposing the SPECTRE operation. However, Spectre might not have been Blofeld's first attempt on Madeleine's life. Either to cover up a potential loose end or to strike back at an increasingly troublesome Mr. White, Blofeld perhaps ordered Madeleine's death many years before, and Safin could've been the agent given this deadly mission. This explains Blofeld's role in the Swann/Safin mystery.
Since Madeleine is alive, well and romancing James Bond in 2020, Safin obviously failed in his task, and there are several clues in the No Time To Die trailers that suggest why - Safin fell in love with his target. The feud between Safin and Madeleine is obviously very personal in nature, and the mask sequence has creepy-romantic undertones. When Bond asks Madeleine what Safin wants, she replies, "Revenge... Me" and this can be taken literally. Does Safin want Madeleine because he's in love with her? If so, this would neatly set up a personal edge to his battle against Bond.
Blofeld sends Safin to kill Madeleine, but the assassin falls for her and can't finish the job. This excuse isn't likely to be well-received by the SPECTRE boss, so Safin hides Madeleine in a remote cabin near an icy lake - the same chilly locale glimpsed in trailer footage. When Blofeld finds out about Safin's deception (and he will find out), the resulting punishment could be the facial scarring Safin is seen with in No Time To Die.
No longer safe, Swann would need a new way to survive and escape both Safin and Blofeld. Her solution? To fake her own death and pretend that Blofeld's men had "visited" her while Safin was away. There's a moment in the latest No Time To Die trailer where Safin is standing over a prone body that could be Madeleine's, potentially showing the aftermath of this faux-demise. In another scene, Safin is angrily blasting at a mystery figure under the ice, possibly showing the execution of a man falsely accused of killing his one true love. Having fooled the love struck Safin, Madeleine then would've spent the intervening years eluding both her ex and Blofeld. This might seem unlikely for a civilian, but Mr. White teased as much in Spectre when he told Bond "you won't find her, she's smarter than me, she knows how to hide."
Why Safin Wants To Kill Swann
Fast-forward to the present day, and Safin is now a megalomaniac in his own right, having been ousted by SPECTRE years prior, and has evidently uncovered Madeleine's survival after she shacked up with a retired 007 in Italy. The curious thing about Safin in No Time To Die is that his grand plan seems to be wiping out a portion of the population in order to save the rest, Blofeld.
This dynamic would for Blofeld ominously warning that Madeleine's secret would lead to the death of James Bond. Safin's revenge mission being motivated by a love for Madeleine Swann would naturally put him on a collision course with Bond, and if Blofeld knew of Safin's work as an assassin, he might be confident enough in his former employee's abilities to guarantee Bond wouldn't be walking away alive by the end of No Time To Die.
