The 25th installment in the James Bond franchise was supposed to arrive in theaters eight months ago, but after initially being delayed until November, No Time to Die was pulled from the schedule again and will now premiere in April of next year. There’ve been rumors that Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 could end up heading straight to streaming, but you get the impression that MGM would much rather see Cary Fukanaga’s blockbuster debut on the biggest screen possible.
Those suffering withdrawal symptoms are in luck, though, because the studio have made the first 20 movies in the series available to stream for free on YouTube. That covers the entire tenures of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, with Craig’s four efforts under the tux the only ones missing.
Of course, the catch is because they’re streaming on YouTube, there are going to be ad breaks. Less discerning viewers might not see this as much of a hindrance, but for a lot of people, the idea of a film getting constantly interrupted isn’t a particularly appealing one. Then again, the lure of being able to watch classics like Dr. No, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, Goldeneye and many more free of charge may be far too tempting to turn down.
Another drawback is that the James Bond back catalogue is currently only available to those in the United States, although that could change depending on how much ad revenue it brings in. There’s no word yet on how long the movies are going to be available online for free, either, so longtime fans should make sure to check out their favorites as soon as possible.
