What Is the Next James Bond Film and When Will It Be Released?

While fans still have to sit tight for a little longer, the film will be worth the wait.

Fans of the James Bond movie franchise have had a long wait for a new instalment. The last film to be released in the Eon cannon was Spectre in 2015, which saw Bond investigate an international criminal conspiracy to intercept global intelligence data “off the books”, after being removed from activity duty within M15. 

The next film to feature 007 will be No Time to Die (2021), which will continue this story arc, picking up five years into the future. 

No Time to Die Plot

Five years after Blofeld was captured in Spectre, Bond left active service with British intelligence. However, he is now approached by Felix, his friend and CIA officer, who asks for his help in searching for a missing scientist by the name of Valdo Obruchev. 

Together, the pair discover that Obruchev has been kidnapped by Lyutsifer Safin, a villain who is hell-bent on causing mass destruction. 

Unlike other Bond films, No Time to Die will have a different feel to it. As well as an action-packed investigation, chase, and takedown of the baddy, 007 finds himself coming to terms with the psychological trauma from the events in previous Daniel Craig films. 

Léa Seydoux, who plays the psychiatrist Dr. Madeleine Swann first seen in Spectre, takes on a key role in helping Bond work through these issues. Seydoux commented on the film and her part in it by saying that “there’s a lot of emotion in this Bond. It’s very moving.”

Last Outing for Daniel Craig

No Time to Die will be the last movie featuring Daniel Craig as 007. The blond-haired Bond first hit our screens in 2006 when he starred in Casino Royale, a film that saw an entirely new storyline begin with the spy starting his career. 

The film got its name from the casino that Bond visits to play a game of poker against a criminal he’s tracking. Despite a few inaccuracies in the play, it’s widely regarded as one of the best poker films of all time. It’s also famous for marking a reset in the Bond story since Casino Royale is also the first story in Ian Fleming’s books. 

NTTD will be Craig’s fifth appearance as Britain’s most famous spy, though it’s not yet clear who will replace the actor yet. Plenty of rumours have been circulating, and many are linking Tom Hardy to the role, though nothing has been officially confirmed. 

In a June 2021 interview with Esquire, Barbara Broccoli, who was the producer of No Time to Die, commented that there would be no announcement on the next Bond until the “dust had settled” on this latest film.

When Will No Time to Die Be Released?

Development on No Time to Die began way back in 2016, making it one of the longest production lengths for a Bond film in the franchise’s 59-year history. The release of the film has been delayed a few times, firstly due to creative differences that resulted in Danny Boyle being replaced as co-writer in August 2018. This pushed the original release date from November 2019 to February 2020 and then April 2020. 

By March 2020, the release had been delayed so that MGM and Eon could maximise the impact of the film and increase audience numbers. The release date was then pushed back to November 2020, then April 2021, and then October 2021. 

However, in February 2021, the release date was actually brought forward for the UK, with the global premiere now scheduled for 30th September 2021. The release across the pond in the United States is planned for 8th October 2021, just over a week after the British launch. 

While fans still have to sit tight for a little longer, the film will be worth the wait. No Time to Die is a pivotal moment in James Bond history, with fans saying goodbye to one actor and waiting on news of the next. The film also marks a change in the style of Bond, showing him as vulnerable rather than the cold humanoid he appeared to be in earlier releases.