Jeffrey Wright reveals that he is satisfied with the dual deaths of James Bond and Felix Leiter in No Time To Die. After numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, No Time To Die finally hit theaters last October, serving as a goodbye to Daniel Craig's take on 007. The movie earned generally positive reviews from both audiences and critics and saw Bond take on Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a bioterrorist trying to release a deadly plague upon the world.
In a franchise first, No Time To Die ended with the definitive death of Bond. After becoming infected with Safin's nanobot plague, Bond opts to stay on the villain's island compound and meet his doom at the hands of a barrage of MI6 missiles. Before Bond ultimately sacrifices himself, however, No Time To Die also sees the death of Wright's Felix, a CIA operative and friend to Bond. Although appearing in a number of 007 films in past decades portrayed by various actors, Wright's version of the character was first introduced in 2006's Casino Royale and would appear again in Quantum of Solace. The character was absent from both Skyfall and Spectre but ultimately returned in No Time To Die to seek help from Bond in Jamaica.
In a new interview with THR, Wright reveals that, ultimately, he's happy with the dual fates of Bond and Felix. He claims that both he and Craig "had a good run" and that the deaths of both characters are handled in a way that "celebrate the bond" between them. Check out Wright's full comment below:
"Well, Daniel and I had a nice run, and if he’s going to go out, we, in a sense, should go out together. So I liked the way that we rounded it out, and what it did was celebrate the bond — for lack of a better word — between the two characters, in a way that was appropriate."
Although Felix wasn't in all of Craig's Bond movies, the two characters did clearly come to share a sort of friendship after first meeting in Casino Royale. Bond is – and always has been – a relatively solitary individual, and Felix represents one of the few people he actually seemed to be able to count on and connect with over the years. When Felix dies in No Time To Die, Bond essentially must say goodbye to the only friend he's ever had, which makes the moment especially touching.
Although mostly overshadowed by the death of Bond himself, both Felix and Bond's deaths do represent a killing of the old guard in a sense. With the introduction of characters like Nomi and Paloma, No Time To Die makes clear that Bond and Felix are part of a dying breed in many ways. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the James Bond franchise, but Wright's comments would suggest that he's happy with the way things ended for both his character and Craig's in No Time To Die.
Source: THR