The film also cheekily nods to the fervor around what the Bond casting and assignment mean and how any deviation from a specific 'type' is treated: Craig’s casting caused an uproar because he was blonde, and casting Lashana Lynch as a Black female 007, even as a sidekick, is certainly an intentional commentary. No Time To Die’s story considers this Bond’s legacy, how his past haunts him, and what he thinks about his line going forward through his lover and child as well as the next 007.
Looking back is fitting because No Time To Die is arguably the most retrospective of all Bond films, examining not only Craig’s influence on the franchise but the legacy of the character both within the franchise’s world and the real world.
