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The latest installment in the James Bond franchise “No Time To Die” is now the second biggest film from Hollywood. As of Oct. 23, 2021, it passed $500 million at the worldwide box office.
“No Time To Die” follows a retired Bond coming back into the field and dealing with the mysterious past of his love interest, Madeleine. This is the fifth and final Bond film for actor Daniel Craig. He stars alongside Léa Seydoux as Madeleine and Rami Malek as the big bad Lyutsifer Safin. Ralph Fiennes, Ana de Armas, and Lashana Lynch round out the main cast. Unfortunately, the film suffered through many shortcomings, including delays, reshoots, and changing personnel.
For example, Craig initially expressed disinterest in coming back for another film after “Spectre” in 2015. Cary Joji Fukunaga took over directing duties from Danny Boyle in late 2018 after he had creative differences with producers. There were many cooks in the kitchen when it came to the script. It was finally left to screenwriting duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, with Craig requesting “Fleabag” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge to be brought on.
Almost Successful
“No Time To Die” is now the second biggest Hollywood film worldwide. It is about $200 million short of the latest entry into the Fast and Furious franchise, “F9.” However, the movie has already surpassed half a billion dollars and is on track to perform better than “Casino Royale” ($600 million). According to Forbes, it is likely to finish as the third-biggest 007 movie after “Spectre” ($881 million) and “Skyfall” ($1.1 billion).
The film’s success is mainly due to the international box office, where it performed extraordinarily well. This would be great news if the movie was released on time, but expenditures continue racking up while movies are not released because of the pandemic. The movie’s countless delays have helped increase the hurdle for it to be profitable. In addition, the loans MGM took out to make the film are reportedly costing the studio $1 million in interest a month. Even still, there is no doubt the Bond franchise is going strong.
Who Could Be the Next Bond?
Discussions around the film are centered around who is next in line to play Ian Fleming’s spy. Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, and Henry Cavill were just some of the names that have been thrown around in the past. Recently, some have been pushing for Bond to become a woman.
Fans might get their wish. “No Time To Die” seems to be prepping Lynch’s character, Nomi, to fill Craig’s shoes based on the trailers. However, bond fans also discussed the possibility of the role passing to Regé-Jean Page. The actor impressed audiences and critics in the hit show Bridgerton, but of course, another actor replaced him in the past couple of days.
Richard Madden of “Game of Thrones” fame, Tom Hopper from Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy,” and Sam Heughan from “Outlander” are also in the conversation. All of this, for now, is fan speculation. The list is practically endless as everyone has a favorite, but fans will have to wait to find out who got chosen for the role. The 007 producers have confirmed that the discussion on the next Bond will not start until early 2022.
Written by Chiagozie Onyewuchi
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Forbes: Friday Box Office: ‘Halloween Kills’ Plunges 80% As ‘No Time To Die’ Tops $500M, ‘Venom 2’ Tops $300M; by Scott Mendelson
Yahoo! Movies: ‘No Time to Die’: The troubled timeline of Daniel Craig’s final 007 film; by Tom Beasley
ScreenRant: No Time To Die Delay Costs $1 Million A Month; by Daniel Gillespie
The Hollywood Reporter: No New James Bond Casting Talk Until 2022, Says 007 Producer Barbara Broccoli; by Alex Ritman
Cinemablend: James Bond Odds: Regé-Jean Page Finds Himself Unseated Again As A Fellow Netflix Star Is The Latest 007 Favorite; by Mike Reyes
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Gerard Stolk’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Images Courtesy of the British High Commission, New Delhi’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License