Warning! This article contains spoilers for No Time To Die
Daniel Craig's James Bond career came to a heartbreaking end in the franchise's most recent film No Time To Die, and now director Cary Joji Fukunaga has confirmed the iconic hero's death. Craig himself has said that he was satisfied by No Time To Die's ending as a fitting send-off for the actor, who has portrayed the role since Casino Royale back in 2006. In his 15 years donning the famous black and white tuxedo, many consider Craig's era to be an exciting and refreshing take on the long-running spy franchise, which began with Dr. No in 1962 and starred the legendary Sean Connery.
No Time To Die was originally scheduled to premiere in the spring of 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film was moved around multiple times. The film finally arrived in theatres in October of 2021, a full year after the original date. Craig's final film earned over $100 million over its opening weekend and has been highly praised as one of Craig's best performances. No Time To Die is the first James Bond film to have 007 killed, and many viewers saw the movie's emotional final scenes as a fitting way to bid farewell to Craig's beloved portrayal of the character; completing his character arc from lone-wolf spy to selfless family man.
In an interview with Empire, Fukunaga cleared up some confusion as to whether James Bond actually died in the film's finale. In No Time To Die's ending, Bond sacrifices himself to save his family; both his lover Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) and his newly introduced daughter Mathilde (Lisa-Dorah Sonnet). Fukunaga said that in his first meeting with both Craig and the producers, they discussed that No Time To Die would be Bond's end, and that they wanted to make it as "clear" as possible. See his full comments below.
“I was really struggling, because it couldn’t be conventional action. It couldn’t just be a demonic device, it had to be tied into the central theme of the story. I wasn’t trying to obtuse with it. But I wanted to be clear with it. We didn’t want that shot in Terminator 2 where you see Sarah Connor turning into bones. But we wanted to show that he wasn’t going to jump down a sewer at the last second. So that wider shot of the island being pummelled was a mixture of macro and micro. The full effect is, ‘Yes, he’s gone, but he succeeded in making sure none of that weapons would go on into the future."
Fukunaga further stated that Bond's death was like "closure," and compared it to the "last sentence in a paragraph in the last chapter of a book, just to try to make it feel satisfying." The film's turned out to be a lie, with many other major character deaths also happening in the film, including CIA's Felix Leiter (Jefferey Wright), Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), and new villain Lyutsifer Saffin (Rami Malek). The main confusion around the death of James Bond was that he is always an invincible hero, so it's understandable that Fukunaga wanted to make but No Time To Die's ending unquestionable by firing multiple missiles at Craig's 007.
While Craig's 15 year-tenure has finally come to an end, fans are eager to find out who the next James Bond could be. It most certainly won't be an easy task to replace Craig, but the list of potential stars that are circling the internet are incredible options. The list includes the likes of Idris Elba, Henry Cavill and Tom Hardy, three outstanding British actors that could fittingly carry on the Bond legacy. While No Time To Die has left no question as to the fate of Craig's Bond, the actor will long be remembered as an iconic iteration of the famous character.
Source: Empire