Note: Update to follow the original post.
Last week we brought you the rumor that Hans Zimmer had been drafted in to replace Dan Romer on scoring duties for No Time To Die and late yesterday came the confirmation from the official James Bond website [link to https://www.007.com/hans-zimmer-to-score-no-time-to-die/] that the veteran composer will indeed be adding the 25th James Bond film to a busy 2020 roster that includes Top Gun: Maverick and Wonder Woman 1984.
Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is quoted as saying, "The music of Bond has always been iconic and I’ve already witnessed Hans adding his touch of genius to the Bond legacy,” suggesting Zimmer's hiring has been in the works for at least a little while.
Any other last-minute shake-ups aside, this just leaves one piece of the No Time To Die puzzle left to fall into place: the singer of the title song. Speculation mounted last week that none other than Beyoncé was going to step up to the mic and even already filming a music video for it, but this soon died down again.
However, over the last couple of days a new name has entered circulation: Billie Eilish.
At 18, Eilish would be comfortably the youngest singer ever to tackle a Bond song: Sam Smith was 23 when they delivered "Writing's On The Wall" for SPECTRE while Sheena Easton was 22 when she sang the titular "For Your Eyes Only". At the same time, she's already racked up an impressive collection of music industry awards and chart hits, and would be a choice very much in line with the way No Time To Die is seeking out new talents and making bold choices that run very much against tradition.
I have to admit to being less than familiar with Billie Eilish's work (editor's note: Jof, go listen to When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? immediately), so over to you: let us know just how well you think she'll work out. Did you have someone else in mind? Outraged at the encroachment of youth? Sound off in the comments below.
UPDATE: Eilish has now officially confirmed the gig.
“No Time To Die” JAMES BOND. AND I AM SINGING THE THEME SONG. ������������ WHAAT
A post shared by BILLIE EILISH (@billieeilish) on
As of this writing, No Time To Die will be released globally from April 2nd 2020 in the UK and April 10th 2020 in the USA.
(Note: Header photo by Lars Crommelinck, used with permission via Wikimedia Commons)