Cary Joji Fukunaga confirms he tried to 'woo' former Bond girl Grace Jones for 'No Time to Die' role

No Time to Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga has confirmed he tried to “woo” Grace Jones into making an appearance in the new Bond film.

The filmmaker revealed that he took a snorkelling trip with the actor and singer, close to Ian Fleming’s Goldeneye estate in Jamaica.

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Jones appeared alongside Roger Moore’s take on 007 in the 1985 outing A View to a Kill and it was rumoured during the shooting of No Time to Die that she was set to make an appearance.

In a Total Film breakdown of the first trailer for No Time to Die, Fukunaga confirmed that he wanted the star to be involved.

He said: “I took a snorkelling trip with Grace Jones out in the waters in front of Ian Fleming’s house when I was trying to woo her into being in the film.”

The speculation began after Jones posted an Instagram photo of a Jamaican beach, during the period in which the film was shooting on the island.

It was later reported that Jones had quit the film after discovering how few lines she had, though this report was not confirmed by Fukunaga.

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No Time to Die is set to be Daniel Craig’s fifth and final performance as James Bond and will see him square off against Rami Malek’s mysterious villain.

Fans of the franchise will see various familiar faces return, including Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, with new additions including Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas.

In a rare move, Léa Seydoux is returning to portray Madeleine Swann, after Bond stepped away from his job in order to escape with her at the end of Spectre.

No Time to Die will be released into UK cinemas on 3 April 2020.