Daniel Craig has always been determined to ensure that his legacy as James Bond stands out from those of his predecessors, so in hindsight it makes total sense that the leading man would demand to be killed off at the climax of No Time to Die.
That didn’t make it any less shocking, though, especially when 007 had never died onscreen before, but it fit the Craig-era remit of Casino Royale kicking off a narrative throughline that wouldn’t be resolved for another fifteen years. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga revealed that it was part of the plan since his very first meetings with the actor and Eon Productions, but even cast member Naomie Harris didn’t think they’d actually go through with it.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, the star admitted that she was convinced the ending would be changed somewhere along the line before No Time to Die finally made it into theaters earlier this year, a full eighteen months behind schedule.
“I would have been so outraged if they didn’t give me the proper ending, oh, my gosh … I couldn’t believe it. I actually thought they were going to change it. I thought, ‘Okay, so they’ve written this ending, but that’s not real. They can’t — they can’t do that.’ Because that doesn’t happen to Bond ever, right? I mean, I’ve never seen that happen to Bond — ever.”
Harris previously revealed that she’d love to return for the next iteration of the iconic secret agent, but that would appear to be a long shot given the self-contained nature of Craig’s tenure, not to mention the fact that the world inhabited by Harris’ Moneypenny doesn’t have a James Bond anymore thanks to No Time to Die.