Being delayed multiple times isn’t the only new ground No Time To Die plans to break: it’s also using actress Lea Seydoux to shake up a major “Bond girl” tradition. The 35-year-old French actress first hit the big screen as Madeleine Swann when she co-starred alongside Daniel Craig in the 2015’s Spectre. Playing Bond’s love interest, Seydoux gave a solid performance as the Swedish psychologist and daughter of former Quantam leader and SPECTRE affiliate Mr. White. Her character portrayal was both likable and feisty, as well as incredibly proficient with handguns.

And now, Seydoux is set to play Swann once again in the upcoming, yet long-delayed, No Time To Die. Set to be Craig’s last movie as the MI6 spy, the film is supposed to meet Bond after his escape with Swann at the end of the last movie, living in Jamaica where he’s free of espionage (for the moment) and its trappings. Barbara Broccoli, one of the film’s producers, told Entertainment Weekly regarding where the plot picks up, “He [Bond] decided to go off with her [Swann] and try to have a normal life. Which, of course, we completely blow a hole through at the beginning of this one. He starts off on a romantic journey with Madeleine and then believes that he’s been betrayed by her.“

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Though the movie will surely be a classic, 007-style level of great, this concept isn’t new. Ian Fleming’s beloved spy character often runs into trouble that’s intertwined with his love interests. And, keeping Casino Royale‘s infamous Bond girl — Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd — in mind, a woman’s betrayal isn’t new to him. What’s most intriguing about No Time to Die, specifically in relation to Seydoux’s return, is that she’s the first Bond girl — besides Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench in Dr. No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963) — to show up again. From Sean Connery in the first films up until Daniel Craig in recent years, with the exception of Trench, Bond always finds himself a new female companion in every movie.

And not only does Seydoux’s version of Swann stick around, she’s also set to be the first Bond lady to return playing a leading role. Along with a new, female version of 007, this will be another welcomed 21st-century update for the franchise. Historically, the only other Bond girl to return to the series has been Swedish actress Maud Adams. Along with an uncredited cameo in 1985’s A View to Kill, the Swedish actress played Octopussy‘s (1983) titular jewel smuggler and Andrea Anders in 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun. But, despite her return, Adams played different characters in each film, and was only a main character in the former.

Seydoux is certainly forging a new path for Bond girls in No Time to Die, and hopefully, she brings Madeleine Swann’s same potent spiritedness that was showcased in the previous film back with her. Her love with Bond won’t be all love and roses; Seydoux herself said of the strained on-screen romance in the EW interview, “S*** happens! Things fall apart.” And, in typical Bond fashion, the original 007 will have to put things back together — but, this time, with help from Swann as a tradition-breaking, returning, leading lady.

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Lindsey DeRoche
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Lindsey DeRoche is a TV and movie features writer for Screen Rant. She received a BA in English, with a concentration in writing, from Plymouth State University in 2018. She’s had a passion for reading, writing, TV, and movies since her early years.

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