Bond fans who have been holding their collective breaths can finally exhale. The famous Royal Albert Hall in London will host the world premiere of No Time to Die on Tuesday, September 28 – that is tomorrow – and Universal is expected to open the flick in more than 700 screens across the United Kingdom on September 30. October 8 is the date for the release in the United States and other territories, including Jamaica.

The excitement ante is all the way up for the 25th instalment in the Bond franchise, which had its release date changed four times. It is being described as “the movie that became the face of the film industry’s battle with the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The official 007 Instagram account is in full advertising mode and has been dropping snippets on rapid. Sunday morning’s treat was a 10-second clip with Bond issuing a warning Rami Malek, who portrays villain Safin, “History isn’t kind to men who play God,” along with a reminder that the box office is open.

But it was the behind-the-scenes footage from the Jamaica Tourist Board, first posted on their Visit Jamaica Instagram page and which was shared by the 007 account, that has been causing a stir. It racked up close to 140,000 views in less than three days, with fans heaping praise on the island. Noting that Jamaica is “a key location in the film,” the account also reminded fans that “the island is also the birthplace of 007, where Ian Fleming created and wrote the Bond novels”.

The slick, well-produced, two-minute video is drenched with the awe-inspiring scenery of Jamaica. It opens with a smiling Lashana Lynch, one of the stars in the movie, who is of Jamaican parentage, saying, “We are in the beautiful island of Jamaica shooting Bond 25” as music from Spectre plays in the background. Other members of the cast and production team gush about the “stunning beauty” of Jamaica, which they label “a cinematographer’s dream”.

IDYLLIC SURROUNDINGS

Minister of Gender, Culture, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange; Tourism Minister, Ed Bartlett; and Natalie Thompson, Jamaican line producer, are featured relaxing in the idyllic surroundings. “It’s really something we have dreamt about, and we are happy that it is going to be a reality,” Minister Grange said.

No Time to Die is Daniel Craig’s final outitng as the beloved spy, 007, and it is tipped to be the biggest film of the year in the UK. Pundits are keeping their fingers crossed that it will signal the return of the global movie-going masses. Reports are that advance ticket sales have put No Time to Die on track to be the second-highest grossing film in the 59-year-old franchise.

And in a first, No Time to Die will release digital collectibles to accompany the movie.

According to dailymail.com, “Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios & EON Productions is partnering with digital platform VeVe to celebrate the upcoming release with a series of NFTs [non-fungible tokens] from the iconic 007 franchise. NFTs are one-off assets that contain exclusive information only accessible to those who purchase them. Bond buffs will have access to a range of collectible content from the soon-to-be-released film.”

Nineteen-year-old American singer Billie Eilish performs the dramatic No Time to Die theme and has told new outlets that “it was a really good collaborative experience” [with composer Hans Zimmer]. The full soundtrack will be released on October 1.

When the film starts, Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica, but his peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help.

Confirming to Vanity Fair magazine that this will be his last film as 007, Craig declared, “I just want to go out on a high note.”

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com