Rami Malek as Safin, Bond's latest adversary. But the events of Spectre still need to be dealt with, hence Christoph Waltz is returning as the evil organization's former leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and Léa Seydoux reprises her role as Dr. Madeleine Swann, Bond's love interest from Spectre.
No Time To Die releases in April 2020, nearly five years since Spectre, which, simply put, wasn't a suitable swansong for Craig's wildly popular incarnation of the British spy. Spectre had the unenviable task of following up Spectre organization as the secret driving force behind all of Bond's previous enemies. Indeed, when Blofeld formally introduced himself to James, he revealed that he is also the former Franz Oberha, Bond's adoptive brother and that he was "the author of all of [Bond's] pain". It was an awkward revision, to say the least, further undermined by an emphasis on overblown action sequences that left major plot points dangling - such as Bond inexplicably not executing Blofeld, ensuring his villainy would continue. The problematic Spectre concluded with the triumphant Bond quitting the British Secret Service and riding off into the sunset with Madeleine but it was an oddly flat ending that left Bond fans unsatisfied.
While Spectre grossed $879-million worldwide, it fell far short of Skyfall's $1.1-billion windfall and it also left fans and critics disappointed. Coming up with a proper follow-up to Spectre caused years of creative difficulties that saw original director polished by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Killing Eve) at Daniel Craig's request. However, with Cary Fukunaga behind the camera, the first trailer for No Time To Die shows that Bond 25 is fearlessly tackling Spectre's problems head-on as it brings Daniel Craig's James Bond saga to a close.
Spectre's Hanging Plot Threads Are Still Important In No Time To Die
Given all of Spectre's retcons, it would have been a mistake for No Time To Die to ignore its predecessor film entirely. Rather, Bond 25 is a true sequel: M (Judi Dench) when he was in MI6 custody during Skyfall.
TheCasino Royale. Meanwhile, the fact that Madeleine Swann is returning and being further developed so that she remains integral to No Time To Die's story honors her status as the best Bond Girl since Vesper Lynd. Finally, Bond himself is recruited back into action, which is refreshing considering Spectre leaned too heavily on the idea that 007 went rogue and had no from MI6, which involved dubious plot acrobatics considering the threat of Spectre gaining total global surveillance as at the heart of the movie's story.
No Time To Die Is Expanding The Story
No Time To Die is also expanding Bond's universe with some refreshing new characters including Skyfall's most intriguing story threads, that Bond is physically diminished from the years of punishment he's sustained and he's not the same youthful agent he was in Casino Royale, though he's now far more experienced and still incredibly dangerous and formidable.
No Time To Die's trailer teases the mask-wearing mystery villain, Bond Women a greater role in the action than ever before. Plus, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) makes a welcome return to the franchise to bring Bond back, which is a more compelling way to get 007 into action.
No Time To Die Is Finishing The Story From Casino Royale
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Daniel Craig's James Bond movies is that all five films tie together as a serialized narrative and No Time To Die looks like it will bring the story of Craig's 007 to a crescendo. There have been narrative threads in the past Bond films starring Sean Connery and Roger Moore - Blofeld was a threat who popped up in multiple films and Tracy Bond's death in Lazenby's movie was finally avenged by Moore at the start of For Your Eyes Only - but for the most part, the previous Bond movies were standalone adventures that weren't tightly serialized as a macro saga. However, No Time To Die is poised to conclude the overall story of Craig's 007 that kicked off with Casino Royale's reboot.
Spectre's retcon stated that each of Bond's past adversaries secretly worked for Blofeld all along: Casino Royale's villain, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), was working for an organization called Quantum, which was properly introduced in Quantum of Solace and was later revealed as a subsidiary wing of Spectre. Meanwhile, Skyfall's Big Bad Raoul Silva, who was M's former prized Double-0 agent before becoming a global terrorist, was also working for Spectre. Although this sweeping retcon came off as jarring in Spectre, No Time To Die can utilize it to its advantage and can now give that revelation the heft it needs to make sense.
In addition, Skyfall and Spectre compellingly addressed James Bond's origin, his tragic loss of his parents, and his turbulent upbringing, which resulted in Craig's Bond becoming the most fascinating and human incarnation of the British spy who fans have invested in. Thanks to the intricate history of Daniel Craig's 007 saga, No Time To Die should utilize all of those building blocks to bring the story of Craig's James Bond to a satisfying end while simultaneously redeeming Spectre's mistakes.
