“No Time to Die” is no ordinary film. It carries a massive $250 million production budget, to say nothing of the more than $100 million marketing spend.
In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Development began in 2016. It is the first Bond film to be distributed by Universal Pictures, which acquired the international distribution rights following the expiration of Sony Pictures’ contract after the release of Spectre in 2015. United Artists Releasing holds the rights for North America, as well as worldwide digital and television rights; Universal also holds the worldwide rights for physical home media. Danny Boyle was originally attached to direct and co-write the screenplay with John Hodge. Both left in August 2018 due to creative differences, and Fukunaga was announced as Boyle’s replacement a month later. Most of the cast had signed by April 2019. Principal photography was from April to October 2019 under the working title Bond 25. The final title was announced in August 2019.
Production was scheduled to begin on 3 December 2018 at Pinewood Studios, but filming was delayed until April 2019 after the departure of Danny Boyle as director. The film is the first in the series to have sequences shot with 65mm IMAX film cameras. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga and cinematographer Linus Sandgren pushed for using film over digital to enhance the look of the film.
Filming locations included Italy, Jamaica, Norway, the Faroe Islands and London, in addition to Pinewood Studios. In March 2019, production commenced in Nittedal, Norway, with the second unit capturing scenes at a frozen lake. On 28 April 2019, principal photography officially began in Jamaica, including Port Antonio. In May 2019, Daniel Craig sustained an ankle injury whilst filming in Jamaica and subsequently underwent minor surgery. In June 2019, production was further interrupted when a controlled explosion damaged the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios and left a crew member with minor injuries. Also in June 2019, production went back to Norway to shoot a driving sequence along the Atlantic Ocean Road featuring an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Aston Martin also confirmed that the DB5, DBS Superleggera, and Valhalla models would feature in the film.
Production then moved to the UK. Scenes featuring Craig, Fiennes, Harris and Kinnear were filmed around London, including Whitehall, Senate House and Hammersmith. In July 2019, filming took place in the town of Aviemore and in the surrounding Cairngorms National Park area. Some scenes were also shot at the Ardverikie House Estate and on the banks of Loch Laggan, just outside the park.
In late August 2019, the second unit moved to southern Italy where they began to shoot a chase sequence involving an Aston Martin DB5 through the streets of Matera. In early September 2019, the main production unit, Craig and Léa Seydoux arrived to film scenes inside several production-built sets, as well as further sequences in Maratea and Gravina in Puglia. Scenes were shot in the town of Sapri in southern Italy throughout September. Locations included the town’s “midnight canal” and railway station. The city is referred to as “Civita Lucana” in the film. In late September 2019, scenes were filmed in the Faroe Islands.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that filming took place around the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon and a Royal Air Force C-17 aircraft on undisclosed dates and locations before the COVID-19 pandemic. No weapons were fired. The British Army’s Household Cavalry unit was also filmed. Filming of an action sequence with a seaplane took place at CMA CGM’s Kingston Container Terminal in Jamaica.
Ben Whishaw praised Fukunaga’s directing work: “It was great and you know what was amazing is that he treated it, or was able to approach it, it felt to me almost as if it were an independent film. You know? And it was quite improvisational… we didn’t do many takes”. He added, “It was very light. Sometimes quite chaotic, but I’m very excited to see how he’s constructed the final film”.
Principal photography wrapped on 25 October 2019 at Pinewood Studios with the filming of a chase sequence set in Havana, Cuba. Production had intended to shoot the sequence earlier, but was forced to reschedule when Craig injured his ankle in Jamaica. Further pick-up shots at Pinewood were confirmed by Fukunaga on 20 December 2019.
No Time to Die had its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 28 September 2021, and was released in cinemas on 30 September 2021 in the UK and on 8 October 2021 in the US, after being delayed by Boyle’s departure and later by the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received generally positive reviews, with many considering it to be a fitting conclusion to Craig’s role as Bond, and has grossed $530 million worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2021.
