Since 1962, suave super-spy James Bond has been an iconic aspect of cinema, and British culture, with a franchise spanning over 24 films with a 25th set to release this year. Many fans hope that No Time to Die will be a return to form for the franchise after the mostly disappointing Spectre (2015) and recapture the brilliance of 2012's Skyfall. While a great deal of the 007 movies is to do with guns, gadgets and girls, another equally important aspect is the music. The opening credits and accompanying music have become iconic and numerous popular artists have been tasked making such a song. Skyfall had Adele with “Skyfall”. Spectre had Sam Smith with “Writing on the Wall”. And it has now been announced that No Time to Die has 18-year-old singer-songwriter Billie Eilish.
Billie will be the youngest person to write and record a theme for the James Bond franchise
Being only 18, it makes Billie the youngest person to write and record a theme for the franchise, and with the two previous artists receiving Oscars for their contribution, there must be a great deal of pressure on her. From what I’ve seen on social media, be it Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, it seems that many are not sold on the young American taking on the role. While her music style certainly differs from the norm greatly, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and hopefully people will hang fire on criticism for her until after the movie’s release as, whatever it is, it's sure to be unique.
2019 was a great year for Billie Eilish, where she achieved six Grammy Award nominations and won such awards as Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Best Song of the Year. The talent is clearly there and hopefully whatever she makes lives up to the high standards from those before.
With No Time to Die looking like it’ll be the last of Daniel Craig’s role as the titular spy, the introduction of a first female 00 and a music artist taking the reins who differs significantly from those before, this installment looks like a significant milestone for the series. I for one can’t wait.
