Madeleine Swann could be revealed as the daughter of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in No Time To Die - here's why. Daniel Craig's time as the face of James Bond is rapidly coming to an end (as it has been for the past 18 months), but the current 007 isn't going to get off easy. No Time To Die begins with Britain's former 007 enjoying retirement with Madeleine Swann in Italy. Their bliss is ended by the arrival of assassins linked to SPECTRE and suggestions that Madeleine has been acting as their double agent.
Léa Seydoux debuted in 2015's Spectre as the daughter of Mr. White, a top agent of the film's titular organization. In his dying moments, White tasked Bond with protecting Madeleine from Blofeld and, of course, it wasn't long before she and 007 became romantically entwined. Spectre explained that Madeleine's parents separated years prior to the film's timeline, most likely due to Mr. White's increased involvement with Blofeld, and we also know that Madeleine once protected her dad from a mercenary - a traumatizing incident that strained their relationship. But trailers for No Time To Die tease much more to Madeleine's backstory - a big secret that threatens to destroy Bond and drive the two lovers apart.
While there are any number of skeletons Madeleine might be trying to usher back into her closet, several clues suggest the woman in Bond's life might be the daughter of his greatest enemy. Here's why Blofeld could be Madeleine Swann's real father.
No Time To Die Hints Madeleine Isn't Really White's Daughter
The "Madeleine Swann is Blofeld's daughter" suspicion has sparked into life thanks to No Time To Die's marketing material, specifically the footage recently shown as CinemaCon. Initial trailers had already teed-up a "secret" that Madeleine was hiding, but according to a description of the CinemaCon clip (which hasn't yet been aired publicly), Bond is chased through his Italian village by mystery assassins on motorbikes. He apprehends one who refers to Madeleine Swann as "daughter of SPECTRE." After picking up Madeleine in his classic Aston Martin DB5, Bond witnesses a phone call in which the man on the other end commends Madeleine for a job well done and insists her "father would be proud."
These comments are designed to leave audiences suspicious that Madeleine has betrayed Bond, exploiting her Mr. White connection to hint toward Swann being a legacy SPECTRE agent. But the dialogue doesn't match up with Swann's backstory as we know it. For starters, the "daughter of SPECTRE" line is a weird one. Blofeld's recruits don't usually refer to each other as "sons" and "daughters," and Mr. White proved to be a disposable cog in the SPECTRE machine, so to describe Madeleine as a "daughter" of James Bond's bad guy club seems suspiciously grandiose after White's fall from grace. The same goes for "your father would be so proud." In White's final days, he and Blofeld weren't exactly best buddies. Madeleine's father had departed SPECTRE acrimoniously and was under constant threat of being murdered his former employers. Anyone who claimed Mr. White would be proud of Madeleine serving SPECTRE didn't know the Pale King at all.
If Madeleine's real father was Blofeld, however, the pieces begin to fit. Blofeld's child would be the "daughter of SPECTRE" in the truest possible sense - the heir to the entire kingdom, not just some disgraced lackey's offspring. And where White eventually renounced SPECTRE, Blofeld remains a dastardly James Bond baddie. He certainly would be proud if his daughter picked up the family business.
Mr. White Adopted Blofeld's Child - Why It Makes Sense
If Madeleine Swann is the daughter of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in No Time To Die, what really happened during her childhood, and how did Mr. White come to play the doting parent?
There are several ways Madeleine might've been conceived by Blofeld but raised by White. For instance, Mrs. White might've had an affair with SPECTRE's big boss (explaining the Whites' eventual marriage breakup) and her husband agreed to raise the child as his own. But Blofeld doesn't exactly seem like the "affair" type - he's a "I'll shoot your husband and see you in the morning" kind of guy. A more likely explanation is that Blofeld sired a child in a previous relationship or one-off sexual encounter, and assigned a close lieutenant of his (one he knew was married and could provide a family home) to act as the girl's parents.
This backstory makes sense because Blofeld is a cold, emotionless villain without a shred of human decency, and him trying to teach a young child right from wrong is like James Bond preaching the virtues of celibacy. Blofeld would have no interest in being a father, beyond perhaps having a successor to assume his position at the head of SPECTRE, and this explains why he palmed the child off to the Whites, who, potentially, couldn't have kids of their own. Suddenly, dots from the past begin to connect. Why would Mr. White have a child if he's involved in such a dangerous world? He didn't. Why did Mr. White suddenly turn on his employer? Because he was afraid of the day Blofeld demanded Madeleine back. And why was Blofeld so keen to have White killed? Because he failed his most important mission - raising Madeline in the SPECTRE mold.
Safin & Blofeld Know The Truth (But Madeleine Doesn't)
Assuming Madeleine Swann's big No Time To Die secret is her hidden parentage, who in the James Bond franchise knows the truth? If he gave up the child willingly, Blofeld himself would obviously be among that small inner circle. This fits with a scene from the No Time To Die trailer, in which Blofeld promises Bond (now a post-retirement contractor with a license to kill on weekends), "when her secret finds its way out, it'll be the death of you." Whatever secret Madeleine is hiding, Blofeld obviously knows it. That would mean he intentionally kidnapped and tried to blow up his own daughter in 2015's Spectre, and while some may view this as a hole in the theory, it's actually pretty on-brand for Blofeld.
Of more interest is how No Time To Die's new villain, Rami Malek's Safin, might be privy to Madeleine's dark ancestry. There's plenty we don't know about Safin, but collating reports, rumors and trailer info, the character seems to be a former SPECTRE assassin who was tasked to kill Madeleine and her family but, for whatever reason, didn't. If accurate, this backstory neatly aligns with Madeleine Swann being Blofeld's secret daughter. The SPECTRE boss sent Safin because he realized Swann would never become his successor, Safin betrayed his boss because he found out why he was being asked to kill a young girl and realized Madeleine's identity could be used as leverage. This explains how Safin defected without finding poison on his cellphone, and why Blofeld appears antagonistic toward Malek's character in the No Time To Die trailers.
Question marks remain over whether Madeleine knows who her father is, and why the secret is suddenly surfacing now. On one hand, Madeleine looks genuinely surprised at the whole "daughter of SPECTRE" label, and insists she hasn't betrayed Bond. On the other, she's familiar with Safin and admits there's something about her past that James doesn't know. This end of the conspiracy is likely tied to Safin's master plan and his reason for targeting a retired James Bond, neither of which has been fully explained just yet.
How Madeleine As Blofeld's Daughter Ends Daniel Craig's Bond Story
Thematically speaking, No Time To Die revealing Madeleine as Blofeld's daughter could provide a note-perfect conclusion to Daniel Craig's James Bond arc. Ever since he was cruelly betrayed by Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, James has been very cautious with his trust. Discovering that the woman in his life is the daughter of his mortal enemy presents 007 with the tragic dilemma - does he trust his heart, or his MI6 instincts which are surely sending up mental red flags.
That might be the least of Bond's inner conflicts, however, as No Time To Die rumors strongly suggest Bond and Madeleine have a baby of their own, creating the Jerry Springer-worthy scenario of James Bond's child having Blofeld as a grandpa. Given everything Christoph Waltz's villain put Daniel Craig through over the course of 5 movies, that revelation is sure to send James for a loop, and could explain why Blofeld promises Madeleine's secret will be the "death" of Bond. Blofeld terrorized James and infiltrated every facet of his existence. Bond believed he'd finally left that specter behind after quitting MI6, but now Blofeld has a constant presence in James' life, staring out through the eyes of his grandchild.
Bond and Blofeld united through family would represent a fitting end to Daniel Craig's James Bond career, forcing the protagonist to finally confront his relationship with the past. Only by letting go of old traumas and learning not to see ghosts around every corner can James Bond finally move on with his family after No Time To Die - despite knowing his father-in-law is Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
