The name's Eilish. Billie Eilish. The official video for the music megastar's No Time To Die has finally arrived online. Some six months after the song's debut (released to coincide with the film's initial April 2020 release date), we get to see her moodily intoxicating vocals in context.
Not that there's much of that – in-keeping with Eilish's approach, everything is arrestingly minimal and pared-down. As she breathes into a microphone, clips from the Bond movie interject and Hans Zimmer's string arrangements swirl, John Barry-style. There's a hint of Maurice Binder-style graphics towards the end, but for the most part, this video doesn't distract us with visual gimmicks. Instead, the song's emphasis is firmly on tone and wording, and it seems to be promising a moment of reckoning for Daniel Craig's 007.
In his fifth and reportedly final Bond movie, Craig's iconic British super-spy tackles the evil Safin, played by Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar winner Rami Malek. The villain appears to share a connection with Bond's current love interest Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), who first appeared in previous movie Spectre. The music video teases anguish and heartache, perhaps alluding to the fact that a man like Bond will never be capable of holding down a serious relationship. Already, we're getting mad On Her Majesty's Secret Service vibes, and we can't wait for the end result.
Directed by True Detective's Cary Joji Fukunaga and co-written by Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge, No Time To Die may be poised to send the 007 franchise in new directions. Two new characters are being introduced, both agents: Lashana Lynch's new 00 operative Nomi, and Ana De Armas' Paloma. Could one of them pick up the 007 mantle? Or will we be getting a spin-off franchise for one or both of them?
We'll find out when No Time To Die is released on 12th November.
