No Time to Die has revealed a sad truth about James Bond within the universe of the films: he has no legacy to leave behind. The latest film in the legendary franchise will be Bond's 25th big-screen adventure, and the fifth to star Daniel Craig in the lead role. While little about the story is currently known, the movie is confirmed to act as an exit for Craig's Bond, paving the way for another reset of the series to take place in the near future.
James Bond's Hollywood exploits can be traced back to 1962, when Dr. No premiered and took the world by storm. Over the course of nearly six decades and 25 feature films, Bond has saved the world countless times, with each film functioning as a standalone adventure within a larger tapestry of continuity. Six different James Bond actors have thus far played the suave spy, with each new film retaining aspects from its predecessors while occasionally introducing new concepts or rebooting old ones.
This method has made the James Bond series a unique case in cinematic history. Each film carries with it a sense of legacy and significance, and every new story seeks to build upon that legacy while still moving in unique directions. But while this approach continues to make James Bond's status as a fictional character even stronger, it has led to a fascinating side-effect within the story of the films themselves. Bond might have a tremendous legacy in the real world, but with each new reboot and recasting of the character, he loses the ability to leave an in-universe legacy.
In the latest trailer for No Time to Die, Rami Malik's villain, Safin, taunts James by speaking of his lack of legacy. "Your skills die with your body," he says. "And life is all about leaving something behind, isn't it?" While the exact context of this comment isn't yet known, it seems to be an obvious dig at Bond only being able to temporarily stop terror threats and diabolical plots; more will always emerge to wipe out the work Bond has done, essentially meaning he has no lasting legacy.
The line also holds such significance in that living dangerously and saving the world is pretty much all James Bond has been doing onscreen for almost 60 years. Before any iteration of Bond can find the time to stop and leave behind a legacy, a new continuation/reboot comes along to reset the James Bond canon and provide all the action and stunts audiences have come to expect. While this has worked wonders for the franchise, it has left Bond as an in-universe character whose life couldn't be less about "leaving something behind" after he dies.
However, this doesn't mean that such a feat is impossible. Of all the various versions of Bond, Daniel Craig's version is the best equipped to be heading for an ending that gives him a true legacy. Over the course of four films, audiences have watched Bond grow and develop beyond the trauma of Casino Royale to become an almost-emotionless killing machine in Quantum of Solace, and then gradually rediscover himself in Skyfall before seemingly putting his former life behind him in Spectre. With No Time to Die set to bring the story of Daniel Craig's James Bond to its conclusion, it's entirely possible that 007 will take Safin's words to heart and do something within the story that allows him to leave something of significance behind, regardless of his ultimate fate.
