Lea Seydoux thought Spectre was going to be Daniel Craig's last James Bond movie

Lea Seydoux's character Madeleine Swann is at the heart of James Bond's latest movie, No Time To Die. Yet, perhaps to some surprise, Seydoux had no idea she would be returning for a second Bond movie following Spectre.

"I absolutely didn't know," she tells GamesRadar+ and Total Film when asked about whether she signed on for two movies. "Because I was sure that Spectre was Daniel's last James Bond." 

When the call came through to return, she was pleasantly surprised. "I was very, very happy," she adds. "Barbara [Broccoli], the producer, called me and I was so happy."

When approaching No Time To Die, Seydoux felt that Swann was almost a new character. "This film felt very different from Spectre," she says. "The character has evolved very much. For me, it feels like a new character, almost. The relationship between bond and Madeleine is really the center of the film. And it will be very emotional for the audience."

One big difference to approaching Spectre compared to No Time To Die was the rehearsal time. "To be honest, when I did Spectre, we shot for eight months. And I really had the time to rehearse and to really be in the mood of the film. And this time, I had no time to rehearse, so I jumped on the film. And it was the way it was, and I had to deal with that. But it was interesting. It was very interesting because it felt different. [No Time To Die director] Cary Fukunaga has a different style from [Spectre directed] Sam Mendes. And this time my character has very strong emotional scenes. So I just had to let myself go."

Seydoux also says that, due to everyone acknowledging this really was Craig's last movie as James Bond, there was a certain sadness on set.

"We knew that it was Daniel's last film, so we really gave everything we could," she says. "He has been working with all those people for 15 years. He knew most of the crew. And so it was like a family. So yeah, it was a bit sad. But at the same time, we really wanted to make the best film we could."

You can listen to the interview with Seydoux, as well as interviews with Cary Fukanaga, Daniel Craig, and Lashana Lynch on the latest episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, available on all major podcasting platforms. For more on Bond, check out our articles on the best Bond movies and who should play the next James Bond.