New 'No Time to Die' trailer promises to bring James Bond back to theaters in November

With Christopher Nolan’s Tenet having cleared a path for the return of blockbuster movies to the multiplex amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, James Bond is reminding moviegoers they’ll meet again in November. A new trailer for the 25th 007 adventure — which will also be Daniel Craig’s farewell to the franchise — debuted online Thursday, and strives to show that audiences will get plenty of bang for their buck if and when the film arrives in theaters as scheduled. Currently, No Time to Die is expected to open in the U.K. on November 12, followed by other territories, including the U.S., on November 20. (Watch the trailer above.)

While the new trailer is big on firepower, it’s still playing coy when it comes to the plot of Craig’s last outing. Set five years after the events of Specter, Bond and his lady love, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), are happily living in retirement in the Caribbean... until history comes calling. “The past isn’t dead,” the soon-to-be reactivated spy tells Swann gravely. She’s been targeted by Safin (Rami Malek), a scarred villain who believes himself to be a planet-saving hero. “We both eradicate people to make the world a better place,” Safin tells Bond about their supposedly shared agendas. “I just want to be a little tidier.”

Taking on Safin will require Bond to have allies that are both old and new. Hence, his CIA pal, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), is back, as is M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw) and his vengeful foster brother Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). Joining the cause are a pair of formidable female soldiers: CIA operative Paloma (Ana de Armas), and MI6’s newest licensed to kill agent, Nomi (Lashana Lynch). “I met your new 00 — she’s a disarming young woman,” Bond drolly says of Lynch’s character, who will make history as the first female 00 in the franchise’s history.

De Armas and Lynch are among the reasons why Twitter remains excited for No Time to Die, although some are skeptical that the film will still arrive in theaters on time considering the continued Covid-19 threat.

The keepers of the James Bond franchise very much hope that excitement over the film, and the chance to say goodbye to Craig, outweighs concerns about the pandemic. So far, Tenet’s theatrical release has suggested that moviegoing faces a still-uncertain future. Since opening internationally at the end of August, Nolan’s film has grossed $53 million in overseas markets where theaters have reopened, a figure that surpassed industry expectations. The movie is poised to play in many U.S. cities — although crucially not New York or Los Angeles, where multiplexes are still closed —over Labor Day weekend. And Tenet’s domestic box office returns will be closely watched as other blockbusters like Wonder Woman 1984 and Black Widow decide whether to stick with their fall release dates or move to 2021.

“If we don’t do this, there will be nothing left to save,” Bond semi-prophetically says in the No Time to Die trailer. He may be talking about saving the world, but that sentiment might also apply to the theatrical experience as we’ve known it.

No Time to Die is currently scheduled to blast into theaters on November 20

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment

• 'Mulan,' 'Tenet,' 'Star Wars,' 'Black Widow,' 'Wonder Woman 1984,' 'Indiana Jones 5': All the major blockbuster movies that have been delayed due to the coronavirus

• Pierce Brosnan sends birthday wishes to Sean Connery as original 007 turns 90: 'My Bond of inspiration'

• Daniel Craig hints that politics play a role in ‘No Time to Die’: ‘We struggled to keep Trump out of this film’