Billie Eilish Reveals Hidden Bond Reference in No Time to Die Song
Billie Eilish reveals a hidden James Bond reference in her theme song for No Time to Die. The American singer-songwriter released "No Time to Die" in February 2020 to strong reception, even winning the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media earlier this year. The film No Time to Die, the 25th in the Bond franchise, releases wide in the United States on October 8.
From director Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective season 1), No Time to Die picks up five years after Spectre, with Daniel Craig's Bond already enjoying retirement. However, the disappearance of a scientist pulls him back into the world of international espionage, and Bond discovers a few things have changed since he's been gone - not least that another MI6 agent, Nomi (Lashana Lynch), was assigned the number 007. No Time to Die will be Craig's last as the legendary gentleman spy, and there is no word yet on who the powers that be will pick to replace him.
The theme song that plays in the opening credits is one of the most iconic elements of a Bond film, and while guesting on the official No Time to Die podcast, Eilish reveals her song pays tribute to the past in a small, almost hidden way. Discussing the song-writing process alongside her brother and producer, Finneas O'Connell, Eilish says they intended for the song to sound like previous Bond anthems, considering the tradition virtually unavoidable. But, they also included a piece of the original orchestral score:
I don't really think there was pressure. I think we wanted to [sound similar to past Bond themes]. It was like, you can't do a Bond song without it sounding like a Bond song. If you listen closely, you can hear [the classic Bond opening sting] in the second verse. It's very subtle and it's very echoed. We decided to do that though.
O'Connell adds that they recorded the song in London with Johnny Marr of The Smiths playing all the guitar, and adding the original Bond sting felt perfect in that spot. The two also speak about shifting their writing process for "No Time to Die" because, according to Eilish, they "really wanted to represent Bond." O'Connell agrees, saying "the Bond songs [from the past] were the reason we wanted to do a song."
Eilish and O'Connell choosing to honor the history of Bond themes, both with big structural choices and little Easter eggs, seems like the perfect decision for the 25th film in the franchise. Fans can only hope that Fukunaga and Co. do the same with No Time to Die, which has practically become synonymous with pandemic-related delays. To put it in perspective, when Eilish's song released a year-and-a-half ago, the film's premiere was supposedly only two months away. Bond fans are of course hoping for No Time to Die to live up to the franchise's best, but at this point, many are probably just keeping their fingers crossed they'll actually get to see it in October.