What mischief Daniel Craig will be getting up to in his final outing as James Bond in No Time to Die remains largely mysterious, and now we may know why, with the actor revealing that they “were constantly adjusting and readjusting the script” during production of his 007 swansong. Revealed in a clip for an upcoming No Time to Die podcast, which also offers a few new snippets of footage from the movie, this detail is sure to have some fans concerned, with ongoing rewrites often resulting in lesser cinematic outcomes.
Of course, No Time to Die is a slightly different beast, with the movie having now faced so many delays and pushbacks that many have no doubt forgotten its even set for release. Still, these script rewrites should not come as too much of a surprise, as No Time to Die has been plagued with delays since conception. The movie was initially supposed to hit theaters way back in November 2019, but thanks to a director change, an injury, and then a global halt, No Time to Die has been met with rising costs, which have reportedly amounted to $1 million a month in interest until the movie is released.
Despite constant adjustments to the script, director Cary Fukunaga has previously assured James Bond fans that No Time to Die is great, and that he has not tinkered with the finished film during all the extra time caused by the various delays. “Although more time would have been lovely, we had to put our pencils down when we finished our post-production window,” the filmmaker explained. While (somewhat worryingly) it does sound like Fukunaga would have liked the chance to polish certain areas of No Time to Die, the finance department put a stop to it. “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. The movie is great as it is.”
Set five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, No Time to Die finds James Bond having left active service. His peaceful life is short-lived, and he is approached by his friend and CIA officer Felix Leiter, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev has been abducted, Bond must confront a villain whose schemes could see the death of millions.
Featuring Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, No Time to Die is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. L&éa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous films, with Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, Billy Magnussen, and David Dencik joining the cast as new characters.
No Time to Die will finally have its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 28 September 2021. Its theatrical release will follow on 30 September 2021 in the United Kingdom and on 8 October 2021 in the United States. Let’s hope it was all worth it.