London (AFP)

End of a never-ending wait for fans of the world's most famous spy: delayed by the pandemic, the new James Bond, "Die can wait", is presented in London next week, the last opportunity to save the planet for Daniel Craig.

Before putting his tuxedo in the closet, the 53-year-old British actor will be put to the test: chases, explosions, shootings ... the trailer suggests an intense episode, rich in stunts and gadgets, in the pure tradition of 007.

With a year and a half late due to the pandemic, the film will be unveiled in world premiere Tuesday at the Royal Albert Hall in London, before its release in British cinemas two days later, then on October 6 in France. .

On this occasion, producers Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and director Cary Joji Fukunaga ("Beasts of No Nation", "True Detective") will join on the red carpet the actors Daniel Craig, Rami Malek and Léa Seydoux and the singer Billie Eilish who performs the film's official song, also titled "No Time To Die".

Alongside these stars, and Princes Charles and William, caregivers were invited to discover the film in the prestigious performance hall to thank them for their work during the pandemic.

"Agent 007" at the AFP cinema

- "Injured animal" -

In the film, the character invented by writer Ian Fleming has quit his activities in the Secret Service and is enjoying a well-deserved rest in Jamaica.

A tranquility interrupted when his old friend of the CIA, Felix Leiter, comes to ask him for help to save a scientist who has just been kidnapped.

American singer Billie Eilish at the MTV Video Music Awards, September 12, 2021 in New York ANGELA WEISS AFP / Archives

Back at work, the most famous agent in Her Majesty's service must work with a new and "disarming" colleague, played by Briton Lashana Lynch.

She immediately warns him: "If you block my way, I'll put a bullet in your knee."

In front of them, a mysterious enemy equipped with high-tech weapons, embodied by the American of Egyptian origin Rami Malek, Oscar for best actor in 2019 for his interpretation of singer Freddie Mercury.

The conquest of Bond since "Specter", the psychologist Madeleine Swann, interpreted by the French Léa Seydoux, also seems to have things to hide.

In this opus, shot in particular in Italy and Jamaica, 007 "is a kind of wounded animal in struggle with its past as a secret agent", described the director Cary Joji Fukunaga last year in a video from the distributor Universal Pictures .

Lashana Lynch, February 9, 2020 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison Getty / AFP / Archives

According to the director, it is a "race" for James Bond, "not only to save the world but those he loves".

Actress and screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge ("Fleabag") was hired to improve the portrayal of women in the film, a way of responding to criticism of the sexism of some of the franchise's work.

Initially scheduled for March 2020, the release of this 25th episode of the adventures of the secret agent has been postponed several times due to the pandemic.

Its release is therefore eagerly awaited by fans but also by cinema operators who seek to fill their theaters after confinement.

"We know it was overdue, but it was important for us to release this film at a time when fans could see James Bond as it should: on the big screen," Michael De Luca assured last month, the director of films for MGM studios, recently acquired by Amazon for 8.45 billion dollars (8 billion euros).

American actor Rami Malek, who plays the "bad guy" in the latest James Bond, February 9, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California Jean-Baptiste Lacroix AFP / Archives

The last part of the adventures of James Bond, "Specter", released at the end of 2015, had brought in more than 880 million dollars of receipts in the world, according to the specialized press.

The same year, Daniel Craig said he would rather "cut his veins" than play James Bond again.

The actor claimed in a Radio Times interview this week that it was a joke.

He explained that at the time he had just finished a grueling shoot in which he broke his leg and "needed a break".

The mystery remains on the choice of the next or the next 007.

© 2021 AFP