Warning: This article contains spoilers for No Time to Die.
Daniel Craig confirms discussing the plan to kill off his iteration of James Bond in No Time to Die with producer Barbara Broccoli, following the premiere of Casino Royale. In the wake of Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as Agent 007, Craig introduced Bond to a new generation with a gritty, Jason Bourne-esque take on the character in 2006’s Casino Royale. Since then, Craig has played the fictional spy four times, with 2021’s No Time to Die marking the end of five intertwined stories.
The 25th film overall in the Bond franchise finally hit theaters on October 8 after a series of delays. In addition to having its release date delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, No Time to Die encountered a handful of pre-production issues due to a revolving door of creatives and the pressure to adeptly send Craig off into the sunset. Originally, indie filmmaker Yann Demange was set to direct but was relieved of his directorial duties when Danny Boyle pitched an idea with his writing partner John Hodge. Then, just as casting was underway, Boyle and Hodge left the project, and Cary Joji Fukunaga stepped in to direct a new script by writers including Phoebe Waller-Bridge. No Time to Die’s story was seemingly always in flux. However, the one thing that remained constant was the decision to kill Craig’s 007 in the final act.
During a Streaming Room conversation with Variety about No Time to Die, Craig spoke for the first time about the film’s ending. Before detailing the circumstances surrounding Bond’s death, its needed “weight,” and joking about the many ways they considered killing him off, Craig was asked how long he knew he wanted his arc to end in tragedy. No Time to Die is the only Bond movie to see its hero die. Read Craig’s explanation of the initial conversation with Broccoli below:
“I’m going to tell a story here, whether or not anybody remembers it or agrees with it,” said Craig. “But it was 2006. Barbara and I were sitting in the back of a car driving away from the Berlin premiere of Casino Royale. Everything was going well. People liked the movie. And it looked like I was gonna get a chance to make at least another movie. I said to Barbara, ‘How many of these movies do I have to make?’ Because I don’t really look at contracts or any of those things. And she said, ‘Four,’ and I went, ‘Oh, okay. Can I kill him off in the last one?’ And she didn’t pause. She said, ‘Yes.’ So, I struck a deal with her back then and said, ‘That’s the way I’d like it to go.’ It’s the only way I could see for myself to end it all and to make it like that was my tenure, someone else could come and take over. She stuck to her guns.”
In No Time to Die, Bond sacrifices himself to save Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) and their daughter, Mathilde. In the process, completely destroys Lyutsifer Safin’s (Rami Malek) bioweapon facility. At the very end of the film, Madeleine drives into the sunset with her daughter, telling the latter about her father, whose name was “Bond. James Bond.” While No Time to Die‘s finality isn’t something fans of the franchise have experienced before, the screen does read “James Bond will return” as the credits roll. Whoever decides to order a martini next has their work cut out for them.
Especially after 2015’s Spectre, Craig had been talking about leaving Bond behind for some time. Thankfully, he decided to come back for No Time to Die and deliver the finale he always intended. Whether the film succeeded in delivering an emotional and satisfying end is up to the viewer. Regardless, there’s no denying Craig’s more-linear tenure as the character as one of the most memorable. No Time to Die has raked in nearly $775 million worldwide—audiences came out in droves to say farewell.
