No Time To Die - A Vague Attempt at an Update

When will No Time To Die see the light of day? That remains anyone's guess. The planned release in November looks iffy at best. We have no clue what the situation will be like in November but I don't think, even then, I'd really want to be sitting in a cinema with a bunch of strangers. If cinemas open again how will they operate? Will they be like supermarkets where they'll only let so many people in and you are told to keep a safe distance from one another? That would mean a reduced box-office. EON must be incredibly frustrated by these strange world events beyond their control. They were only days away from what was projected to be a huge April opening and now they are sitting on a film that they can't actually release. If they had managed to release the film last November (as originally planned) they would have enjoyed a full cinema run and then released the film to streaming exactly at the point when everyone was isolating at home and desperate for something to watch. As it stands now though, they must be wondering if they'll ever be able to turn any profit from No Time To Die.

I genuinely don't have the foggiest when things will be 'normal' enough to release major films in cinemas again but I wouldn't be surprised to see No Time To Die pushed back to 2021. It's incredible that Spectre came out in 2015 and yet its direct sequel could take six years to appear. That would equal the gap between Licence To Kill and GoldenEye (and the gap between LTK and GoldenEye must have felt like an absolute lifetime to Bond fans at the time). No Time To Die is, like many other films at the moment, now frozen in carbonite like Han Solo at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. There is the option of bypassing the cinema and putting No Time To Die on streaming services - something which a number of productions have done in recent weeks and months. However, they were not James Bond films. Although technology is rapidly changing the way we consume film and television, I believe Barbara Broccoli and most Bond fans would always much prefer the traditional prestige of a cinema release - however long it might take in this particular case. I honestly can't see No Time To Die going straight to streaming services.

It is though ridiculous that the Daniel Craig era has somehow been stretched out to nearly fifteen years. If things ever do get back to 'normal' then there is no excuse for these long gaps between the films. I'm all for reducing the budgets if it means films on a regular basis. A more streamlined budget might actually make for a leaner and more exciting film. Besides, when you watch Spectre or Skyfall, it's a struggle to understand why these films cost so much money in the first place. Spectre seems to suffer from a strange lack of extras and the end of Skyfall is like an episode of Emmerdale crossed with Straw Dogs.

The question of what will happen next once No Time To Die has (eventually) come and gone remains a mystery. The delay to No Time To Die might have ended the hopes of some of the actors we were once talking about as successors to Daniel Craig. Tom Hiddleston (who was - back in the mists of time - alleged to be in pole position if Daniel Craig didn't come back after Spectre) is nearly 40. Aiden Turner at 36 still has time and would be about the same age that Daniel Craig was in Casino Royale if they were able to start work on a new film in the next couple of years. It is very possible though that the next Bond actor will come from a younger generation and be someone that most of us have barely heard of. And there's always the option of going for someone who is quite well known - like Chris Hemsworth (who has expressed an interest in the part). Hemsworth as Bond? Not the craziest idea ever floated. Whatever happens, the search for the next James Bond could potentially be a lot of fun and keep us guessing right to the end.

- GH

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