Underneath The Mango Tree

Originally posted in December...

The first trailer for “No Time to Die” dropped today and I am full of excitement! The only thing I dislike about the Craig-era Bond films is how long the gaps are between films, and I feel like I’ve been waiting for the 25th Bond film FOREVER. There were a lot of production problems early on, multiple scripts were written, and directors have come and gone. When Danny Boyle left the project I felt nervous, but when the producers hired Cary Fukunaga I was ecstatic! I happened to catch Cary’s first feature “Sin Nombre” in theaters and it floored me. He continued to impress me when he made Beast of no Nation, where his cinematographer was injured and he completed the film working as both cinematographer and director. Then came his impressive TV work including the first season of True Detective and Maniac. I think he’s a perfect fit for the Bond franchise, and I think he will bring something new to the series.

The trailer looks fantastic, I’m happy that Léa Seydoux is returning, and the locations look gorgeous. I’m particularly excited that the series has returned to Jamaica, which is sort of the birthplace of James Bond. Ian Fleming loved Jamaica and eventually built his estate “Goldeneye” there. It’s also the setting of the first James Bond film, Dr.No. It got me thinking about Bond’s first adventure and I just had to draw some Dr.No fanart. Young Connery is fun to draw, he has such distinct angular features. I’m planning to do more Bond stuff in the coming months leading up to the release of Bond 25. Hopefully, this is the first of many Bond-related posts.