Watching your favorite movies abroad? Don’t forget to get your Aeroshield smart DNS to access any geo-restricted content.
Obviously, we’ll be diving into the jaw-dropping finale of No Time to Die, so consider this your sole spoiler warning. With that out the way, it’s time to consider what the shocking ending of James Bond’s 25th cinematic outing means for the franchise as a whole, given the events that unfold in the third act.
In a twist nobody saw coming, it’s revealed that 007 fathered a child with Madeleine Swann, who was evidently pregnant when Bond sent her away following the movie’s opening action sequence. This marks the first time that the character has ever been depicted as a father, but it doesn’t last long.
After being infected by the Heracles Project, Bond realizes that if he comes near Madeleine or young Mathilde again he’ll kill them due to the DNA-targeted nanobots in his bloodstream, so he decides to let himself get blown up. That’s right; not only does No Time to Die give the legendary operative a child, but it goes right ahead and kills him off in no uncertain terms shortly afterwards.
While Eon are never going to stop making James Bond movies, the ending of No Time to Die would indicate that the next reboot will start with a completely clean slate. After all, the very next scene following his crystal clear death shows Ralph Fiennes’ M, Ben Whishaw’s Q, Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear’s Tanner and Lashana Lynch’s Nomi toasting to his memory.
The fact that their version of 007 is definitively dead in Craig-era canon surely means that none of the aforementioned actors can return in the future, because they don’t have a James Bond in their world anymore. It’s an incredibly bold way to end the film, but we can safely surmise that the next filmmaker and actor to bring the icon to life will begin with a blank page in front of them.