Casino royale end scene

Whether intentionally or not, a final exchange between Judi Dench's M and her prized Agent 007 at the end of 2006's Casino Royale would come to thematically set the scene for Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond in No Time To Die. 15 years before ending his run as the world-famous MI6 agent, Craig began his tenure with Casino Royale's de facto origin story for his interpretation of James Bond. The film, of course, ends with the tragic death of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), the only woman Bond loved absolutely, leaving a lasting scar that would thread through the first and last of Craig's five installments.

Fans of the series may recall some of Casino Royale's crucial final moments, in which Bond coldly attempts to suppress his heartbreak by claiming he's ready to return to duty immediately. Despite M voicing her need for this return, she senses Bond's misery and tries to extend a small mercy: "If you should need more time—". It's at this point that Bond callously cuts her off mid-sentence, rejecting the notion by asking "Why should I need more time?" As No Time To Die would strategically display across so many of its scenes, this inability on Bond's part to make the most what little time he had for himself would ultimately prove his single greatest tragic flaw.

Related: Daniel Craig Is Right About James Bond's No Time To Die Ending

Casino Royale's "Time" Line Mirrors No Time To Die

Those who have seen No Time To Die may recognize how its story structure exemplifies how Bond's rebuke of "Why should I need more time?" eventually becomes the words he'd most regret. The movie begins with an homage to On Her Majesty's Secret Service as Bond tells his newfound paramour Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) that the two of them have "All the time in the world" while they enjoy a romantic getaway. Unfortunately, their time together is cut short, as a scheming Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) exploits Bond's unresolved trauma over Vesper to manipulate him into thinking Madeleine also betrayed him. Five reclusive years later, Bond hears from Blofeld in person that this plan was intended to make Bond self-inflict the very same punishment upon himself that he did at Casino Royale's end: losing what little quality time he could have made for himself, a loss of time Blofeld sees as a fate akin to death.

The film's third act sees Blofeld tragically validated in this belief, as Bond must learn that Madeleine birthed and raised their five-year-old daughter Mathilde alone in his absence. Then, merely a day later, a nanobot-poisoned Bond chooses to let himself be killed by an incoming missile strike rather than put his new family at risk by escaping and remaining alive. As the missiles close in, he radios Madeleine to lament having only had "What felt like five minutes of [his] life" with her and their daughter while Swann (in a devastating inverse of Bond after Vesper's death) tearfully pleads "We just need more time."

No Time To Die Answered James Bond's Greatest Casino Royale Regret

Despite its tragic ending, No Time To Diealso answers Bond's greatest regret since Casino Royalerather than simply call back to it. Before a small gathering of MI6 personnel, Ralph Fiennes's M eulogizes Bond with a quote from author Jack London: "The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." It's a credo Bond saw through to the end, knowing time on its own is valueless if it must be spent in further solitude from those he cares about. In granting Madeleine and Mathilde "all the time in the world" to be safe and happy away from the danger he invites, Daniel Craig's Bond ultimately exits with a grace befitting of his 15-year expansion of a classic movie icon.

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