Daniel Craig knows you’ve been waiting and waiting—and waiting—for No Time to Die, but you’ll just have to wait a little longer. On Friday, the 25th installment of the iconic spy franchise was delayed from its November 2020 theatrical release to April 2, 2021, following the path charted by several tentpoles in the wake of the pandemic. On Monday night, Craig (virtually) popped up on The Tonight Show to assuage fans who are frustrated by the continual pushbacks—all while wearing a T-shirt and a bowtie, serving up some lite Bond cosplay.
“This thing is just bigger than all of us, and we want people to go see this movie in the right way, the safe way,” Craig said—an allusion to the ongoing pandemic, which has since March forced theaters around the world to close their doors. “We want to release the movie at the same time all around the world, and this isn’t the right time. Fingers crossed, April 2 is our day.”
Craig also shared an exclusive clip from the upcoming film, in which Bond runs away from some baddies and jumps off a bridge. The clip is the newest bit of footage to be released after a handful of explosive trailers and a new music video for Billie Eilish’s titular Bond theme.
The Tonight Show appearance coincided with Global James Bond Day, which marks the original release of the first Bond film, Dr. No, on October 5, 1962. As such, Craig happily took a walk down memory lane with Fallon, recalling what he did the moment he found out he was cast in the role after getting a triumphant call from producer and 007 gatekeeper Barbara Broccoli. Craig said he was shopping at a Whole Foods in Baltimore at the time, where he was shooting Road to Perdition. He strutted right over to the store’s liquor section and picked up a bottle of vodka, a bottle of vermouth, a shaker, and a glass—the components of a martini, of course. Prior to being cast, Craig revealed, he had never properly tried the drink, which is Bond’s signature.
“I’d never had a martini before,” Craig said. “I’d never mixed myself a martini before. I’d never actually drunk a martini before. I understood what it was.”
The actor, who was bound to secrecy about his casting, ended up celebrating alone and going to a local bar, where he quickly got hammered after knocking back several more martinis. Craig was smiling so much to himself, he recalled, that the bartender kept asking why he was so happy. “I said ‘You wouldn’t fucking believe me if I told you,’” Craig said. “I must have looked crazy.”
No Time to Die, directed by Cary Fukunaga and co-starring Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, and Ana de Armas, is Craig’s final round in the Bond franchise, ending a run that began with 2006’s excellent Casino Royale. Bettors have spent the last few years wildly speculating who will take over Craig’s spot, with guesses ranging from former hopefuls like Tom Hiddleston (a possibility dashed by Hiddleswift) and Idris Elba (the People’s Bond!), to TV stars like Richard Madden and Lucifer’s Tom Ellis. Oscar nominee Tom Hardy has also been a consistent favorite, though it’ll likely be a long, long time before announcement is made.
Regardless of who takes the gig, Craig told Fallon he had one simple, RuPaul-esque bit of advice for his successor: “Don’t fuck it up.”
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