The 007 Bond film No Time To Die finally held its delayed world premiere in London on Tuesday. The guest list was made up of Oscar winners and British royalty and was definitely the most high profile red carpet since the start of the pandemic.
Even though the weather wasn’t great, it failed to dampen the spirits of the star actors. Daniel Craig, dressed in a striking pink velvet dinner jacket, reunited with his co-stars Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch and Lea Seydoux on the carpet. Cinema operators hope that this highly anticipated movie will help bring audiences back to pre-pandemic levels.
No Time To Die is the 25th Bond movie and has been delayed three times since its original April 2020 slot. The delays were of course caused by movie theatres around the world being forced to shut their doors due to the pandemic.
No Time To Do marks Craig’s final portrayal as James Bond
The Universal Pictures and MGM film marks Daniel Craig’s fifth and final portrayal as the charming British secret agent. This film wraps up a 15-year tenure that began with Casino Royale in 2006.
“It’s such a great relief. It was so important to me to come and celebrate with all the other cast and crew and to get it into the cinemas and we’re here,” Craig commented.
“A year ago I didn’t think that was going to happen.”
And when asked what he was going to miss the most from playing 007, he said: “The people.”
Star-studded red carpet
Members of the British Royal family also attended the premiere. And as a thank-you to frontline workers, health workers and members of the armed forces were also invited to attend the premiere.
Former Bond actress Judi Dench and singer Billie Eilish, who sings the film’s theme, also attended.
The plot of the movie
The movie sees Bond coming out of retirement in Jamaica to help track down a new villain, played by Rami Malek. The Oscar-winning actor describes his character as “mischievous and devious”, and the villain is armed with lethal technology.
“The most daunting part was just coming up with a good story,” director Cary Joji Fukunaga said.
“I think of it as a last chapter of this one book where we (first) met Daniel in ‘Casino Royale’ (and) it’s all part of the same story.”
The Bond film also introduces 00 agent Nomi, played by Lashana Lynch, who says, “I’m just happy it’s here and we get to celebrate it in the way that it deserves”.
Expectations are high after the last two Bond films (Spectre 2015, Skyfall 2012) grossed $880 million and more than $1 billion globally.
“Now that the cinemas are open we’re really happy to be supporting the industry,” producer Barbara Broccoli said.
“We made this film for the cinema and we want people to enjoy it.”