A featurette from the newest Bond installment,No Time to Die, is here to shed some light on the movie’s villain. The featurette arrives just two months ahead ofNo Time to Die’s current November 20 release date. The villain, Safin, is played by recent Oscar-winnerRami Malek, and he cuts the same kind of ominous shape as many of the Bond baddies who have gone before him. But how bad is he really?
Despite the featurette reusing the same footage from themost recent trailer, wedoget more one-on-one time with Malek as he enlightens us on what Safin is all about. It’s clear he has a connection to Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), Bond’s love interest who, it seems, has separated from 007 at the start ofNo Time to Diebut will be drawn back to him as Safin poses a threat to her safety. Malek has also teased that Safin operates in technology-based villainy and hasno concrete, guiding ideology, making him a true threat to global security. The featurette adds to this with soundbites on Safin from Malek, who tells us that “what I really wanted from Safin was to make him unsettling [and] thinking of himself as being heroic,” and later, “Safin is a formidable adversary. James Bond has to adapt to him.”
What Safin’s plan inNo Time to Dieactually is and how exactly Bond plans to take him down has also been teased, but it’s hardly clear how it will all play out. Is Safin really one of, if notthe, most formidable villains in the history of the franchise? Can 007 defeat him? Luckily, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out.
No Time to Dieis currently scheduled to hit theaters on November 20, but honestly, who can confidently say at this point. In the meantime, check out the Safin-focused featurette below. For more, here’sour 2021 movie calendar.
Here’s the official synopsis forNo Time to Die:
InNo Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. You can follow them on Twitter@_matineeidle.
