No Time to Die director originally wanted film to be set in James Bond's mind during Spectre torture scene
It was almost a Bond film within a Bond film
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The director of new Bond film No Time to Die originally wanted to make a 007 film that took place in the British spy’s mind during a torture scene in Spectre.
Cary Joji Fukunaga, whose film was pushed back from April to November due to coronavirus, made the revelation in an interview with Miranda July.
He told July, who was interviewing the filmmaker for Interview Magazine: “I swear to God, I had an idea that this movie could all be taking place inside the villain’s lair from the last film.”
Fukunaga explained: There’s this scene [in Spectre] where a needle goes into James Bond’s head, which is supposed to make him forget everything, and then he miraculously escapes by a watch bomb.
“And then he and Léa [Seydoux] blow up the place, and go on to save the day. I was like, ‘What if everything up until the end of act two is all inside his head?”
His pitch to make No Time to Die a film within a film was ultimately dismissed by MGM. An outing set within Bond’s imagination might have been slightly too high-concept for the long-running franchise.
No Time to Die will be Daniel Craig’s final outing as the spy. Seydoux, who reprises the role of Dr Madeline Swann in the film, is the first cast member to have shared her verdict on the finished film.
The film also stars Rami Malek, Ana de Armas, Ralph Fiennes, Rory Kinnear, Ben Whishaw and Jeffrey Wright. It will now be released on 12 November.
Just last month, Craig revealed he has no plans to leave a single penny of his $125m fortune (£108m) to his children when he dies, as he finds the idea of inheritance “distasteful”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments