Unlike many Bonds who came before him, Daniel Craig's version of 007 is surprisingly emotional at times (while protecting his homeland and fending off evil villains at any given turn, of course).
From his all-encompassing love for Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in Casino Royale, to his grief-stricken response to M's (Dame Judi Dench) death in Skyfall; there's no denying Craig's iteration of Ian Fleming's world-famous spy has a lot more depth to him than some of his predecessors.
It makes sense, then, that his final outing in the franchise should be equally sentimental—and that certainly is the case in No Time to Die.
Playing on his doubts and the residual feeling of betrayal he has over Vesper, SPECTRE's Ernst Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) still manages to manipulate Bond from inside his prison cell at HMP Belmarsh.
Setting up an explosive device at Vesper's grave after Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) suggested he go there for closure, Blofeld tricks Bond into thinking his now-partner is in on the plot, driving a wedge between them.
After the title sequence (which features Billie Eilish's stunning theme, "No Time to Die"), we then fast-forward five years to find out where Bond and Madeleine are now.
**WARNING: Major No Time to Die spoilers ahead**
Who plays Mathilde in No Time to Die?
The adorable little girl in No Time to Die is played by actress Lisa-Dorah Sonnet.
Bond 25 marks her first acting role—but no doubt she will be snapped up by casting directors in the future, after her highly-praised debut.
Is she really Bond's daughter?
After five years apart, Bond was forced to join forces with Madeleine once again in order to speak to Blofeld, who refuses to talk to anyone but the daughter of the former SPECTRE agent while imprisoned at HMP Belmarsh.
However, Madeleine has already been in contact with Safin (Rami Malek), who turns up at her London office and reveals his true identity; the masked assassin who killed Madeleine's mother after invading their home when she was a child. As viewers saw in the flashback at the very start of the movie, he inexplicably chose to save Madeleine from an icy lake.
Feeling as though she owes him for his act of kindness, Safin then introduces grown-up Madeleine to the Heracles project he stole from MI6, which sees DNA-driven nanobots infiltrate the skin to kill targets from the inside out. He gives her a vial of the stuff and orders her to unleash it.
Back at Belmarsh, it becomes evident that it is not Bond's DNA the biological weapon is targeting, but, in fact, Blofeld's, as he perishes after coming into contact with the pair.
Madeleine then goes into hiding and Bond is the only person who knows where to find her (until a load of evil henchmen turn up, naturally): at her childhood home in Norway. Realizing that his love for her is very much still alive, Bond confesses his true feelings for her, before he hears a soft, high-pitched voice.
Appearing at the top of the stairs behind Madeleine, the little girl named Mathilde is introduced to Bond, before she's tucked back into bed. Despite her age and piercingly blue eyes, Madeleine convinces Bond that she is not his daughter.
However, later, once they're on Safin's island lair, it soon becomes clear that Mathilde (as well as being insanely cute) is Bond's biological child—something which prevents him from returning to her and Madeleine at the end of the movie, as he's been infected with Heracles and would kill them both if he was to be reunited with them.
Will she feature Bond movies?
Given that No Time to Die was Daniel Craig's last outing as Bond, it seems highly unlikely that Madeleine or Mathilde will return to our screens.
However, as the post-credits message revealed, "James Bond will return." Of course, this is most likely referring to Craig's successor, but it could also mean that some of the characters—including Mathilde and Madeleine—will be a part of future 007 movies.
After all, Lashana Lynch's character has already been awarded his code name and the narrative could quite easily follow-up after Bond's death.
No Time to Die is in U.S. theaters on Friday, October 8.
It's fairly rare for a Bond girl to show up in more than one 007 flick – but Léa Seydoux will be reprising her role as Dr Madeleine Swann in the upcoming No Time To Die.
The new film finds Swann deeply in love with Bond after the pair first met during the events of previous movie Spectre, and according to Seydoux, fans can expect to see a different side of the character this time around.
"This time we'll have the chance to see what she's been through in her life, in her childhood," she explained in the first episode of the official No Time To Die podcast. "The opening of the film is her as a young girl and we understand her roots, what she's been through.
"So I think that for me it felt like a totally different film when I was on set," she added. "And even the character, the way she's written is very different from Spectre. Spectre, it was more cold, there was more distance it was like I thought that you couldn't really relate to her in a way. She was kind of a mystery.
"And I think in this one she'll be more open and vulnerable, because she's in love."
In the second episode of the same podcast, Seydoux expanded on the importance of the relationship between her character and Bond, explaining, "I think it was important to see Bond in love again because he had this relationship with Vesper [in Casino Royale] but she betrayed him. and this time I think she's the real love in a way – so yeah really I think the film is also a love story."
In terms of the changes between Spectre and No Time To Die, she added, "I would say that in this film, it's even more psychological and more emotional, and I think it's something that Daniel as James Bond really created with this character.
"He created a character who is more vulnerable and who has flaws and I think that's what we like as an audience. And it's true that James Bond is like a... it's not the real world right? But what we like is that in this world that is not real we can relate to the characters."
It wouldn’t be a James Bond film without a “Bond Girl.” No Time To Die stars Daniel Craig in his fifth (and final) outing as James Bond, and he’s joined by French actress Léa Seydoux — better known as “Bond Girl” Madeleine Swann. Léa’s Madeleine works with Bond, as well as Nomi (Lashanna Lynch), Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), Paloma (Ana de Armas) and more allies to defeat Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a terrorist leader.
The iconic “Bond Girl” has been played by actresses like Rosamund Pike, Eva Green, Gemma Arterton, Denise Richards, Halle Berry, and more. But this go around, it’s Léa, 36, who acts as Bond’s love interest/right-hand woman in No Time To Die. Below, everything you need to know about Léa Seydoux.
1. Lea is a French actress.
Léa was born in Paris on July 1, 1985, and got her start in acting in French cinema in the mid-2000s. Her first major screen role was Girlfriends (Mes copines), followed by La Consolation in 2007. But Léa’s breakthrough role came in 2008’s The Beautiful Person (La Belle Personne), which earned her the 2009 Chopard Award for Best Upcoming Actress at the Cannes Film Festival.
Years later, after starring in several Hollywood movies, Léa played a lesbian art student in the French film Blue Is The Warmest Colour. Léa received critical acclaim for the role, and she was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2013. Future French films that Léa appeared in included Beauty and the Beast, Saint Laurent, and Deception.
Léa’s made a name for herself in American filmography, as well. Her first Hollywood role was in Quentin Tarantino‘s Inglorious Basterds. She followed up that iconic war film with a role in Ridley Scott‘s Robin Hood, and then she played Sabine Moreau opposite Tom Cruise in 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. A few years later, she secured her next major film role: Madeleine Swann in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre.
3. ‘No Time To Die’ is not Lea’s first Bond film.
As was just mentioned, Léa has been apart of the James Bond franchise for years now. She first played Madeleine in Spectre, the last Bond film to come out before No Time To Die. The action-packed flick followed Bond (Daniel) and Madeleine (Léa) pitted against Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christopher Waltz), the villainous leader of a global crime organization. Spectre was released in U.S. theaters on November 6, 2015, and grossed over $800 million worldwide. Léa clearly enjoyed her stint as Madeleine in the movie, as she reprised the role six years later for No Time To Die.
4. She also works in modeling.
Léa obviously has a big-time career in acting — but that’s not her only success story. She’s modeled for years, having appeared in photo shoots for magazines like Vogue Paris, L’Officiel, Another Magazine and more. However, Léa has made it clear that she does not see herself as a model. “I’m not sure why everyone says that. I’ve done some fashion shoots, but always as an actress,” the star told Hollywood Reporter back in 2012.
Léa is blessed in both her career and in her personal life. The actress has a son, Georges, whom she welcomed on January 18, 2017 with boyfriend Andre Meyer. Léa and Andre were dating at the time of their son’s birth, but reports have stated that they’ve since got married. Léa has never confirmed this, which is unsurprising given that she tends to keep her personal life out of the spotlight.
In a recent interview with Town & Country, Léa spoke about how her acting career also accommodates her personal life. “I think being an actress is also good because you can work very intensively for a few months and then have a month where you’re off and you can have a normal life,” Léa said. “It suits me in a way.”