Current track

Title

Artist

Current show

Toria Christie

1:00 pm 4:00 pm

Current show

Toria Christie

1:00 pm 4:00 pm

Background

James Bond: Six talking points from the No Time To Die trailer

Written by on 05/12/2019

Has there ever been more hype and anticipation surrounding a James Bond return?

image

It’s been more than four years since Spectre, with Daniel Craig returning for one final hurrah after previously saying he wanted to “move on” from the franchise, and the world’s favourite secret agent is under more scrutiny than ever.

There was Danny Boyle’s highly publicised departure as director, the release date being postponed, much speculation about a female 007 and, of course, Phoebe Waller-Bridge being called in to add humour to the script and help make Bond more relevant in the #MeToo era.

On Monday, the trailer for the trailer was released, because yes, that’s what happens now. Just 14 seconds of classic Bond – shoot-outs, a motorbike chase and a mysterious figure – but it was enough to send the internet into meltdown.

The character posters came on Tuesday and now, finally we have the full trailer: two minutes and 32 seconds of the new Bond for 2020.

Here are some talking points from the trailer:

There’s a lot of action

Would No Time To Die tone it down? From the looks of the trailer, the answer is no. There’s a heart-in-mouth viaduct jump, motorbike stunts, an Aston Martin souped-up with its own guns and a shoot-out involving Ana de Armas’ Paloma dressed in an evening gown.

We may have last seen Bond heading for retirement, but he’s very much back. His mission is to rescue a kidnapped scientist which, in true Bond style, turns out to be far more treacherous than expected.

First proper look at Rami Malek’s baddie

Few details have been released about Malek’s role, but there is a lot of expectation following his Oscar win for Bohemian Rhapsody earlier this year. We got to see his character, Safin, looking suitably sinister in the poster pictures released earlier this week, but the full trailer gives the first opportunity to see him in action.

:: Listen to Backstage on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

What does it tell us? Well, in true Bond style, they’re keeping it all very mysterious, but we can see his face is scarred, and that he may wear a mask. There’s also a mysterious figure that appears behind a glass door, who we saw in the teaser trailer – could this be a masked Safin?

“Your skills die with your body,” the baddie tells Bond. “Mine will survive long after I’ve gone.”

Does the script treat its Bond girls “properly”?

When Waller-Bridge was signed up, she said in an interview that Bond was “absolutely” still relevant and that he needs to stay true to his character – including his treatment of women.

What needed to be ensured, she said, was that the film treated the female characters properly. Which brings us to…

Is Lashana Lynch the new 007?

Newcomer Lynch, who plays a character called Nomi, was touted as the new 007 following reports earlier this year. Not the new Bond, obviously, but would she be taking over his agent number?

We have already been told that Bond is not on active service at the start of the film and indeed, we see a yacht scene and the agent sunning himself in Jamaica.

Suitably tooled in her character poster, the trailer confirms that Nomi most definitely is a double-oh agent. “Are you a 00?” we hear Bond ask her. “Two years,” is the reply. But is she 007? “The world has moved on,” she tells him. “So stay in your lane.”

Has Bond been betrayed?

Lea Seydoux is back as Bond’s love interest Dr Madeleine Swann, and there have been reports that the couple are set to be married in No Time To Die. (His ring finger is just out of shot in one scene, so they’re keeping us guessing).

But married or not, it seems their relationship might be about to hit a bump in the road. “Why would I betray you?” we hear her ask. “We all have our secrets. We just didn’t get to yours yet,” is the reply.

“When her secret finds its way out, it’ll be the death of you,” we hear Blofeld – who we get a brief glimpse of in the trailer – tell Bond in a later scene.

We know Craig won’t be returning again (yes, we know he said it last time, but this time he really means it. We think) – so what does this mean for Bond?

Bond is maybe not quite the big shot he once was

One of the standout moments from the trailer sees Bond coming back to London and signing in to return to duty. “Bond,” he says, giving the surname that needs no introduction, until it does.

There’s a pause as the staff member looks at him questioningly. “James Bond,” is his slightly annoyed reply, delivering the classic line in what presumably is a beautiful Waller-Bridge twist.

No Time To Die is out on 2 April 2020

(c) Sky News 2019: James Bond: Six talking points from the No Time To Die trailer