‘No Time to Die’: Director Cary Fukunaga Considered Turning Some of ‘Spectre’ Into a Dream Sequence
Cary Fukunaga delivered what some might consider a fine sendoff for Daniel Craig’s James Bond in No Time to Die. The film had an impressive box-office run and received more positive reviews than negative, cementing itself as a success.
Still, in its earliest stages, Fukunaga thought about tweaking Craig’s final Bond movie. The change would’ve had a profound effect on Craig’s previous movie, Spectre, which would’ve changed how others saw it.
Daniel Craig considered quitting James Bond after ‘Spectre’
In the past, Daniel Craig’s longevity as James Bond had been put into question. The actor was on record discussing how he no longer wanted to play Bond for one reason or another. With Spectre, Craig once again made headlines by announcing that he didn’t see himself coming back after the film.
Spectre was the movie in the franchise and saw Craig starring alongside the likes of Dave Bautista and Christoph Waltz. But at the time, if it was up to Craig, Spectre would’ve been the actor’s last movie. This was because the actor had enough of the physical toll the franchise was taking on his body. In an interview with GQ, Craig discussed the several injuries he sustained playing 007. These injuries ranged from tearing the labrum in his right shoulder to rupturing his calf muscles.
“It’s not about recovery, because you know you can recover,” he said. “It’s about psychologically thinking that you’re going to do it again.”
By the time Spectre rolled around, Craig questioned if he wanted to keep doing the role because of the physicality involved.
“I was never going to do one again,” he continued. “I was like, ‘Is this work really genuinely worth this, to go through this, this whole thing?’ And I didn’t feel… I felt physically really low. So the prospect of doing another movie was just like, it was off the cards. And that’s why it has been five years.”
Cary Fukanaga considered turning some of ‘Spectre’ into a dream sequence
Finding the right director for No Time to Die was no easy task. Producers thought they had the right choice in acclaimed filmmaker Danny Boyle, but Boyle soon left the film due to creative differences.
“I would love to have gone into this and had a script that we could shoot,” Craig said. “And it just didn’t happen. There were so many things that went against it.”
Eventually, everyone settled on director Cary Fukunaga for the flick. But Fukunaga joined the franchise with his own ideas for the film. While speaking to Miranda July for Interview magazine, Fukunaga discussed a quick thought he had about linking his James Bond movie to Spectre.
“There’s this scene 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,” Fukunaga said. “And then he and Léa 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?’”
How close Fukunaga actually came to implementing that idea is unclear, as it didn’t make the final cut for No Time to Die.
Cary Fukunaga is glad he doesn’t have to decide the future of James Bond
There have been strong discussions about what to do with the James Bond character after Craig’s interpretation. Some even feel it would be appropriate and fresh to change Bond’s skin color or gender in his next iteration. In an interview with IndieWire, Fukunaga gave his opinion on the situation.
“The character’s DNA itself can’t change, you know, being this troubled, conflicted outsider railing against authority and operating autonomously,” Fukunaga said. “Those things need to remain the same. In terms of all those things, the idea of representation within the character of Bond … in a lot of ways, Bond belongs to culture. I don’t know what the right decision is there. I’m just thankful that I don’t have to make it.”
