MOVIE NEWS – Daniel Craig’s James Bond died in No Time To Die, but the final scene hinted at a possible 007 spin-off set in the future.

The future of James Bond may be up in the air while news of a new actor remains eerily quiet, but Daniel Craig’s final scene in No Time To Die quietly paved the way for a 007 spin-off that actually takes place in the future. Eon’s James Bond films have always toyed with futurism. Beginning with 1964’s Goldfinger, the series introduced more and more outlandish gadgets, ranging from the less believable to the downright ridiculous. Usually, the closer the James Bond films get to science fiction, the more resonant they become. Moonraker was a shameless attempt to capitalize on Star Wars fever, while Brosnan’s invisible car forced the Daniel Craig era to completely strip 007’s arsenal of gadgets.

What comes next after No Time To Die ends the Daniel Craig Bond era remains to be seen. With Amazon’s acquisition of MGM and co-ownership of the James Bond IP, there is speculation that 007 will follow the path of many other major franchises and expand through film and TV spinoffs. Eon executives Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have previously resisted the idea of Bond spinoffs, but with so many major film owners diversifying into streaming platforms, and with Prime Video now a major focus for Amazon, some sort of Bond-related spinoff may be inevitable sooner or later. Fortunately, No Time To Die laid the groundwork.

No Time To Die introduced Mathilde Swann, who, somewhat surprisingly given her background as 007 in the bedroom, is the spy’s first official successor in the cinematic canon. After Bond comes up on the wrong end of a missile, Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux, closes the final chapter by telling Mathilde: “I’m going to tell you a story about a man. His name was Bond… James Bond.” This poignant closing line conjures up the image of a young girl growing up with stories about her heroic spy father and his action-packed exploits, albeit in a heavily edited version for a younger audience.

Moreover, one of the central themes of No Time To Die is that James Bond’s past comes back to haunt him. Whether it’s because she wants to emulate the hero her mother told her about in bedtime stories, or because she’s the daughter of James Bond and the granddaughter of a high-ranking SPECTER agent, it seems certain that Mathilde Swann will one day enter the spy game, whether she wants to or not. Amazon’s content brain trust may be sniffing out spinoff potential in the final scene of No Time To Die – a story in which James Bond’s grown daughter finds herself in the same world as her late father.

Why would a James Bond spinoff set in the future work?

However, the most interesting aspect of the idea is not Mathilde’s connection to 007 and SPECTRE, but rather the futuristic time frame. Mathilde Swann is 5 years old in No Time To Die, which is set roughly in the early to mid-2020s. For a spin-off with Bond’s daughter to work, she would have to be around 25-30 years old, which would push the timeline to 2045. Given that Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies are already on the cutting edge of technology, a mid-2040s story with all sorts of futuristic gadgets, advanced digital threats, and a much-changed social landscape would be promising.

Mathilde’s spy adventure would be unrecognizable, and it would depict the world in a much more speculative way than her father’s. Although it would use the Mathilde Swann spinoff timeline to differentiate itself from other James Bond films, it would also be a smart way to follow up on the popular Daniel Craig film. Whatever comes next, Bond 26 will almost certainly be a reboot of the series, with a new cast, a new tone, and a new 007. Following Mathilde in a spinoff would mean keeping one foot in Bond’s existing realm, allowing Amazon to explore the best of both worlds.

The main James Bond franchise could continue with a new face and maybe even turn back the clock if Bond 26 is set in the 1960s, as in Ian Fleming’s original books. Meanwhile, Mathilde Swann’s spinoff could push James Bond into the future and more directly continue Daniel Craig’s legacy. Two very different spies under one roof, both with cinematic significance.

Source: Screenrant