No Time To Die’s Grace Jones Cameo Rumors Explained: Will She Appear?

Grace Jones is no stranger to 007, but is she returning for No Time To Die? Already a hugely popular music star with hits such as “Slave To The Rhythm,” Grace Jones made her movie bow in 1973 with Gordon’s War, before her most memorable cinematic credit in 1985’s A View To A Kill opposite Roger Moore’s James Bond. Playing May Day, Jones begins as the associate and lover of Max Zorin, proving a formidable adversary to 007, but later turning on the despicable Silicon Valley villain to help Bond save the day. May Day contributed towards redefining the stereotypical depiction of female characters in James Bond, and remains one of the most popular standalone characters in the franchise’s history.

Bringing the Daniel Craig era to a conclusion, No Time To Die is currently slated for release in September 2021, although thanks to COVID-19, that date is about as stable as Bond’s relationship status. At the heart of No Time To Die is the troubled romance between James and Madeleine Swann, but the upcoming 007 adventure also introduces two exciting new female characters in Lashana Lynch’s Nomi and Ana de Armas’ Paloma. While Swann, Nomi and Paloma all hail from the modern James Bond era, rumors have long suggested that Grace Jones could have a cameo.

Jones’ connection to James Bond 25 started way back in 2019, when the actress and singer posted a photo of herself in Jamaica and promised “exciting news.” Daniel Craig and co. were filming No Time To Die on the island at the same time. The rumors were speculative from the off. Jones was born in Jamaica, after all, and given her many talents, “exciting news” could constitute a variety of announcements, but reports in mid-2019 maintained that James Bond producers were eyeing Grace for a role. The story exploded several months later, with The Sun (and subsequently everyone else) claiming that Jones had arrived at the UK’s Pinewood Studios to film scenes for No Time To Die, only to be disappointed by the size of her role, allegedly quitting there and then. Given the nature of the source, the likelihood of Jones storming off set has to be questioned. It also seems ridiculous that the details of her role weren’t discussed until Grace was on set ready to shoot.

The Grace Jones-No Time To Die story took a further twist thanks to the film’s director, Cary Fukunaga. In December 2019, Fukunaga (via GamesRadar) casually dropped into conversation that discussions between himself and Grace Jones about a No Time To Die appearance did take place in Jamaica, effectively confirming the original rumors emanating from Jones’ social media activity. As the director describes it, he and Jones went snorkeling near Ian Fleming’s iconic Jamaican home, Goldeneye, where he tried “wooing” her into his film. Fukunaga doesn’t reveal whether or not the charm offensive was successful, but he probably wouldn’t be mentioning Jones in interviews if it had been, for fear of spoiling the surprise. As such, any hopes of a May Day reunion look fairly remote at present.

If we assume that Jones’ 2019 Instagram post did relate to Bond, the actress was obviously interested in the project at some stage. Although her exit likely wasn’t as dramatic as the tabloids suggest, it does seem plausible that after initially agreeing, Jones pulled out of No Time To Die for unknown reasons.

Grace Jones making a cameo in No Time To Die wouldn’t necessarily mean the return of May Day. Jones’ casting could’ve been intended as a simple Easter egg. Fans would pick up on the connection, but Jones would effectively be playing a brand new character. Another possibility would be to leave the identity of Jones’ No Time To Die character ambiguous, allowing for the possibility of being May Day, but stopping short of confirming the A View To A Kill connection. The explicit return of May Day in Daniel Craig’s era would open a whole raft of canon and timeline queries, since we know the current 007 wasn’t on active MI6 duty during the 1980s. This might’ve even been the main point of contention between Eon and Grace Jones – the actress wanted to make a proper return for May Day, but producers were unwilling to head into those chronological weeds.

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Craig Elvy
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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

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Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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