With No Time to Die pushed back to fall now, it bears reminding that James Bond is not only an industry leader when it comes to movie delays, but also when it comes to product placement. And it's precisely that reason why it's being speculated Daniel Craig’s 007 could be called back on the field to reshoot some scenes.
Ever since the late Sean Connery first portrayed Bond, the world's most famous spy has always served as a showcase for some of the world's most recognizable brands, as early 007 could be seen flying Pan Am, gunning down his enemies with a trusted Smith & Wesson only to then trigger some hidden gadget inside his Rolex Submariner. Even though 007's preferred brands have changed with time, their presence on the screen has only grown throughout the years.
A recent rumor surfaced by British tabloid The Sun suggests that after more than a year’s worth of delays and two full years since No Time to Die finished filming, James Bond's gadgets could look a bit dated by the time the movie finally releases on October 8. Though many brands are to be featured in the film, it's not Bond's Omega Seamaster, the fleet of Aston Martins seen in the trailer -including an electric Valhalla supercar worthy of Cyberpunk 2077 - that is the problem, instead it's 007's phone.
No Time to Die's smartphone partner is Nokia, which was thrilled to have its Nokia 8.3 5G flagship in close-up shots during the film. However, instead of being displayed months before the device launched, those scenes would now show 007 sporting a phone that viewers could have purchased since October 2020, a full year ahead of the film's now planned release. For those reasons, there could be some costly reshooting to be done in order to accommodate those pricey product placement agreements.
Of course, that's only the tip of the iceberg, as No Time to Die also has partnerships with Adidas, Bollinger champagne, Land Rover, aside from the aforementioned Aston Martin, Omega, and Nokia. Though there's always the possibility of these fixes being done digitally, none of these brands will want to take their chances in anything but the best advertising money can buy, considering they've already purchased such rights.
With so long to go until No Time to Die's release, there are more reasons than ever to pay attention to James Bond's gadgets. As seen in Casino Royale, brands can even slide into 007's dialogue in order to let viewers know that the spy ditched his Rolex for an Omega a long time ago.
No Time to Die is set to release on October 8, 2021.
Source: The Sun