James Bond film No Time to Die further delayed to reshoot Nokia product placements

Back in 2020, a Nokia executive teased a partnership between the company and the latest James Bond film to show off the latest Nokia smartphone of its time, which was 2019.

The 007 film No Time to Die was originally set to be released in theaters in April of 2019 until the departure of the film’s original director and co-writer Danny Boyle caused delays, further pushed back after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was set to be released in April of 2021 until a more recent delay was announced.

A report from The Sun cited industry insiders who were aware of the at least some of the reasoning for the film’s latest delay. It’s reported that the brand deals struck up by brands for the film, which was partly filmed in 2019 going into 2020, would feature tech and products that would be far outdated by the time it was to be released in 2021.

But by the time the movie comes out now it will look like Daniel Craig and all of the other cast members are carrying something that has been out for ages. That isn’t really the point of these deals[…] The big tech firms want the stars to have all the new up-and-coming products to help promote them and sell them to fans […] It means some of the scenes are going to have to be very carefully edited and looked at to bring things up to date.” – film industry insider

Nokia’s 8.3 5G smartphone was to be featured in the film, but this item’s placement, along with others from Adidas footwear, Bollinger champagne, and Omega watches would all have outdated products featured in the film. The Nokia 8.3 would go on sale in October of 2020, which is already too outdated, even for James Bond.

We can imagine that film sponsors – brands whose products are featured in the film – would much prefer to see their products appear on huge screens in cinemas. It’s contracts like this that give brands power to delay films over the sponsor’s main purpose: to show their newest products throughout the film. We wonder which Nokia device will update the Nokia 8.3 that was originally set to be featured in the film. Nokia's 7.2 smartphone (released in September 2019 and pictured below) made an appearance in the film's official trailer.

The film’s delays have upset fans of the franchise. No Time to Die is actor Daniel Craig’s final Bond film, and before fans can find out who will be cast as the next James Bond, the current film needs to be released first. In the meantime, products placed throughout the film need to be carefully retouched, reshot, or reedited with newer products from brand deals for the film’s now October 2021 release date.

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