New James Bond footage from historic Hollywood studio MGM shook and stirred the movie theater industry's CinemaCon summit in Las Vegas Tuesday, as executives struck a defiant note about the future of the big screen.
A nine-minute clip from No Time To Die—billed as Daniel Craig's final 007 outing, and the series' 25th installment —showed Bond apparently awakening from an explosion in a picturesque Italian village, before plunging into a series of car and motorbike chases.
In traditional fashion for the British super-spy, Bond inflicted violence on his foes using his fists and deadly machine-gun gadgets fitted into the headlights of his Aston Martin.
The plot picks up after 2015's Spectre, with the loyalty of love interest Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) now seemingly called into question.
"There's something I need to tell you," she says to Bond in the clip, after shadowy operatives converge on the agent. "I bet there is," he responds angrily.
The film has been delayed multiple times by COVID, and is of huge importance to movie theaters this year as Hollywood hopes to entice viewers back to cinemas despite the pandemic.
"Though we know it feels like a long time coming, it was important to us to release this movie when fans can watch James Bond, as it's intended to be enjoyed —on the big screen," MGM film chief Michael De Luca said, to a loud ovation.
No Time To Die gets its world premiere in London on September 28. CinemaCon runs until Thursday.