Get the large popcorn when you see No Time to Die, because the 25th James Bond movie will be the longest one of them all. The upcoming feature, which stars Daniel Craig in his final performance as Bond, is reportedly set to run two hours and 43 minutes, or 163 minutes total. At that running time, No Time to Die will be the longest-ever movie in the series, surpassing the prior record-holder Spectre at 148 minutes.
Perhaps the length of No Time to Die will help make up for its delayed release. The movie was originally set for a release in November 2019, but multiple delays would follow as a result of Danny Boyle’s departure. The pandemic further complicated the release last year, taking No Time to Die out of 2020 entirely with a release for this year. It’s all culminated with a planned release for the James Bond movie on Sept. 30 in the UK and Oct. 8 in the United States, dates that MGM has promised are final this time.
In No Time to Die, James Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
No Time to Die is directed by Cary Fukunaga using a script co-written with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Along with Daniel Craig as James Bond, the movie features newcomer Lashana Lynch as the new agent 007 following Bond’s retirement. No Time to Die also stars Rami Malek, L&éa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, and David Dencik. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli produced.
“Everyone thinks it’s so easy to make these tentpole films, that it’s just formulaic and you just plug-and-play and people are going to show up for the cinema,” Fukunaga recently told SFX, referring to rumors that Malek is playing Dr. No. “Actually, if you want a good film you have to take it seriously and put a lot of thought into it. It takes a lot of smart people to create these films, and also to create these characters that will hopefully last. This is a new villain. He’s not, as some have speculated, Dr No. Hopefully he’ll be one that is lasting in some way.”
“Let the rumors fly, because no matter what you expect from this movie, you will be shocked when you watch the film. I will not add any fuel to that fire,” Malek also told GQ. “[The rumors are] interesting. I’m not going to bite on that, but I do think it’s interesting. They’ll just have to wait and see.”
In any case, Malek’s character will serve as one of Daniel Craig’s final foes as this is the actor’s final run as James Bond. Soon enough, No Time to Die will be released in the UK on Sept. 30 followed by a release in the United States on Oct. 8. Given the running time, you might want to hit the restroom beforehand.