Bond Stalls Again... But Not Because of COVID

Turns out James Bond's biggest foe is a phone. 

The new Bond film, No Time to Die, has been delayed so many times I just never believe it's coming out. Originally set for 2019 with Danny Boyle directing, then 2020 with Cary Fukanaga, now late 2021 in a hopefully corona-less world, Bond might be delayed again. 

This time, the delay is caused by one of Bond's least expected foes... old technology. 

That's right, No Time to Die was shot so long ago, that the cellphones Bond uses in the movie are now out of date.

Nokia, the partner on Bond, has already debuted and sold the device he's using in the movie. They spent a lot of money on their product placement, and they do not want it to reflect a product they are no longer pushing. 

So Bond is going into reshoots to update the tech for a 2021 world. 

A report from The Sun expands on this rumor, saying, "But by the time the movie comes out now it will look like Daniel Craig and all of the other cast members are carrying something that has been out for ages. That isn’t really the point of these deals […] The big tech firms want the stars to have all the new up-and-coming products to help promote them and sell them to fans […] It means some of the scenes are going to have to be very carefully edited and looked at to bring things up to date."

Nokia’s 8.3 5G smartphone was Bond's device of choice. Other paid product placement came from Adidas footwear, Bollinger champagne, and Omega watches. Every single one of them is complaining about having outdated products in the film as well. 

All of these brands have contracts that allow them to delay the film to get it right... and it seems like they are enacting these delays. There will be money exchanges, reshoots, edits that drop in new products—and hopefully Bond can keep his 2021 debut date. 

Time will tell.