Director Cary Joji Fukunaga explains his upcoming James Bond film, No Time to Die, is already finished and unlikely to change before its delayed November release. As the 25th movie in the series, No Time to Die will be Daniel Craig's last time playing Bond. He made his debut over a decade ago, in 2006's Casino Royale, making No Time to Die his fifth turn as Bond. Craig has been adamant about stepping away from the franchise for some time and even expressed being tired of the role as far back as 2015. Late last year, he also shared he has no intention of directing a future James Bond movie, either.
No Time to Die was the first major movie in the United States delayed by the coronavirus. MGM shocked audiences in early March with its announcement No Time to Die would release seven months later than planned, in November 2020. At the time, the length of the delay seemed surprising, though now nearly every movie scheduled for release through July has been delayed. In fact, some delays have been even longer than seven months, with Fast & Furious film F9 and Disney's Jungle Cruise both postponed around a year. Though some upcoming films are at a standstill, others have been able to continue post-production from home.
This has led to some fans wondering if release delays will allow creatives extra time to work on movies that normally would have been completed by now. No Time to Die's Cary Joji Fukunaga responded to one of those questions on Instagram. In his reply, Fukunaga explained, "Although more time would have been lovely, we had to put our pencils down when we finished our post production window." He elaborated in another reply, after a fan asked about adding "polish" to No Time to Die, explaining why it wasn't possible: "Short answer is money. And although Bond is a big movie, we still have to weigh cost with value. And like anything, you could tinker endlessly." Fukunaga finished by reassuring fans, "The movie is great as it is." Check out the full exchange (via Anton Volkov) below:
As Fukunaga explained, those working on No Time to Die were done with their work before the coronavirus affected post-production. Other movies and TV shows haven't been so lucky; at this point nearly all productions in the U.S. and Canada have stopped filming. This means network TV seasons are ending early, with some shows just a couple episodes shy of meeting their original order. The initial wave of completed movies postponed due to the coronavirus may have passed. However, depending on how long the pandemic continues, fans may see a second wave of delays, as movies unable to film right now can't meet their deadlines.
Fukunaga's comments about No Time to Die make a lot of sense, especially from a financial prospective. Studios are already suffering due to the coronavirs pandemic, and there's no reason for them to spend extra money they don't have to on an already completed film. Bond fans should be happy to hear Fukunaga is happy with the movie as is. Hopefully, theater goers will be, too.
Source: Cary Joji Fukunaga, Anton Volkov
