Live and let die…
Following the recently wrapped mystery of who will star as James Bond-Daniel Craig, surprise!-in the super spy’s 25th feature, it was presumed that spoilers for the film would be more closely guarded than actual classified Secret Service documents.
Not so. An insider revealed to The New York Post’s Page Six column that “Bond quits the secret service, and he’s in love and gets married … his wife then gets killed,” and going on to say “The film’s like TAKEN with Bond.” The death of Bond’s wife, believed to be Dr Madeleine Swan-whom he drove off into the sunset with in SPECTRE’s final minutes- will force Bond to return to MI6 and set out on a quest to find and kill those responsible using his particular set of skills. Probably having a few martinis and bumping into Bryan Mills along the way.
If that sounds vaguely familiar, it should, Bond was previously married at the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, only for his wife Tracy di Vincenzo to be killed by Blofeld. This was after 007 had foiled one of the villain’s zanier schemes; to sterilise the world’s food supply. Go big or go home. Although it’s yet to be revealed if Blofeld will have any part in the death of Bond’s second spouse.
In the novels, Ian Fleming wrote Bond as wanting to settle down into domestic life and put his secret service behind him. So, it would be a fitting story for Daniel Craig’s final-possibly, maybe-outing as 007.
How much of Bond’s married life away from the world of espionage will be shown in the film is yet to be revealed. Explosions, car chases and death traps are the franchise’s comfort zone. Adding in the domestic adventures of Mr and Mrs Bond where the pinnacles of excitement are: pajamas days, actual Netflix and chill, drawing straws to avoid taking the bins out, and evil is hogging the duvet… may be a step beyond.
As a milestone in the franchise, Bond 25 will no doubt surprise no one by being a film filled with moments of nostalgia, as well as celebration, in ways other than plot-pinching. The cars will be faster than super fast, the villains will delight with evermore melodramatic expository monologues, and the exploding pen might just make its long awaited return. Or not.
Bond 25 written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson is targeting a November, 2019 release date.
