Cary Joji Fukunaga discussed the ending with Empire Magazine - spoilers ahead!
This article spoils the ending of 'No Time To Die'. We give away the whole ending. Do not read if you haven't seen the movie! Seriously, we spoil the whole damn thing!
If you haven't seen the film yet, go watch it and come back to this article.
For those who have seen the film (and apparently many of you did!) read on.
'No Time To Die' was one of the years biggest hits, giving Daniel Craig a send-off befitting of 007 but this was a Bond film with a difference.
The film touched upon themes of loss, reconnection, new beginnings and how an icon of British culture in years past can adapt to modern-day sensibilities.
The ending of the film has been a point of contention with some people, in no large part because James Bond dies.
According to director Cary Joji Fukunaga, this was the plan from day one.
"In my first meeting with Daniel and the producers, they said that’s how they wanted the story," he told Empire Magazine.
“They felt that was an ending. I was like, ‘Well, it’s a result of an ending, but we don’t know what happens. It has to be earned.”
The director of season 1 of 'True Detective' and Netflix's very first original film, 'Beasts Of No Nation' is one of four credited screenwriters on the film and admitted the team had some trouble trying to find a fitting conclusion.
“I was really struggling because it couldn’t be conventional action. It couldn’t just be a demonic device, it had to be tied into the central theme of the story," he said.
Fukunaga was unambiguous when asked if James Bond was dead - the answer is an unequivocal, resounding "yes."
Bond met his end after becoming infected with Safin’s (Rami Malek) DNA-tagged virus, which meant that he would be unable to see his daughter again without killing her, and the spy was blown up by missiles at Safin’s secret island lair.
“I wasn’t trying to be obtuse with it. I wanted to be clear with it. But I wanted it to be tasteful. We didn’t want that shot in 'Terminator 2' where you see Sarah Connor turning into bones."
“We wanted to show that he wasn’t going to jump down a sewer at the last second. So that wider shot of the island being pummelled was a mixture of macro and micro"
Fukunaga added, "the effect is, ‘Yes, he’s gone, but he succeeded in making sure none of the bioweapons would be used into the future."
"It felt like closure, like closing off the past, and closing off the story. It’s that last sentence in a paragraph in the last chapter of a book, just to try to make it feel satisfying."
Series producer Barbara Broccoli was impressed by Fukunaga's work on the film, and recently said she would be keen to get him back in the director's chair.
Broccoli was full of praise for Fukunaga, saying "We love Cary, he's done an exceptional job."
"I don’t have any idea whether he’d do another one. I think he did 'No Time To Die' because he wanted a challenge, and he sure pulled it off. But I’m not sure if he’d do another one. We’d love to work with him again.”
'Trainspotting' and 'Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle was initially attached to direct the film but left the project over that old chestnut 'creative differences with star Daniel Craig.
In any case, Fukunaga inherited a film that was cursed by most metrics, with the release date famously pushed from April 2020 until September 2021 but in any case, the film ended up as one of the biggest hits of 2021.
The film became the biggest hit at the Irish box office since 'Frozen 2' in December 2019, and sales of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray are tipped to be among the best-selling this Christmas.