Spoiler alert... Bond really did have time to die
DANIEL Craig’s Bond was expected to die in the actor’s final movie as 007 but effects staff on the film have revealed once was not enough – they killed him 100 times.
The demise of Daniel as the world’s favourite fictional spy in No Time To Die after five films was all part of the publicity.
But – just in case anyone refuses to believe we have seen the last of Craig in the role – behind-the-scenes staff have surfaced to declare it is over for him.
Charlie Noble, production visual effects supervisor on No Time To Die, said: “I think it’s pretty clear from that final shot. He definitely doesn’t disappear into a trap door.
“It’s definitely curtains.” His team did not show any blood in order to keep the film’s certificate at 12A, “but it was obvious what was intended”, he added.
His colleague at production firm Dneg, Joel Green, said he does not “see any ambiguity” in the final moments. The team were ordered to produce 100 different versions of Craig’s death as Bond. They were told to make it clear 007 is obliterated – and did so by enhancing footage of real explosions on Salisbury Plain.
The film’s credits did include the traditional line “James Bond will return”, but the tech pros said Bond will look different when he, or she, does.
So the exit of Craig, 53, who first played Bond in 2006, has wiped the slate clean for the next instalment.
Excited fans have suggested it may be set in the 1950s – while one of the favourites to replace Craig, Superman star Henry Cavill, 38, this week said: “It would be very exciting to have a conversation with the producers.
“Nothing is off the table. It’s an honour to even be part of that conversation.”
He is now 7-1 to win the role, while Richard Madden is on 7-2 and Tom Hardy is at 4-1.
Idris Elba and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page are hotly tipped too. In September series producer Barbara Broccoli denied that Bond would ever be female.