The plot of Spectre also linked the events of Skyfall to Craig's first two
Skyfall (2012) Spectre (2015) No Time to Die (2021)
Absolutely - there's very little crossover from any prior James Bond films, including the other Daniel Craig appearances. There are, however, many inside jokes that you won't get, as Skyfall acted as a bit of an anniversary celebration and makes nods to a wide variety of previous Bond films.
SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is a fictional organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, as well as the films and video games based on those novels.
Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall are actually a "prequel trilogy". (Spoiler, all three movies.)
Q is a fictional character in the James Bond films and film novelisations. Q (standing for Quartermaster), like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch (or later Q Division), the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service.
But perhaps most notably, he was directly tied to Bond's first true love Vesper Lynd – he had earlier forced her to work for him with the threat of killing her boyfriend, and was thus directly responsible for Vesper betraying Bond at the end of Casino Royale, and essentially also responsible for her death.
He is the founder and leader of the criminal organization Spectre, as well as James Bond's foster brother and archenemy — manipulating behind the scenes of many of Bond's past run-ins, including Mr. White, Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene, and Raoul Silva.
Madeleine is the daughter of SPECTRE agent, Mr. White and his wife. In 1998, Lyutsifer Safin came to the White house in Nittedal, Norway to kill Mr. White; who had murdered his entire family on orders from SPECTRE leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Blofeld is head of the global criminal organisation SPECTRE and is commonly referred to by the codename Number 1 within this organisation.
Quantum of Solace (2008) Skyfall (2012) Spectre (2015) No Time to Die (2021)
Spectre Established Blofeld As The Overarching Villain Of Craig's Bond Era. In one of the biggest retcons in James Bond history, Spectre established that Ernst Stavro Blofeld was James Bond's adoptive brother, who was originally known as Franz Oberhauser.
Madeline Swann is the daughter of Mr. White, a member of the criminal organization Spectre. As a young child in Norway, Swann witnessed the death of her mother at the hands of Lyutsifer Safin. Safin murdered Swann's mother as vengeance for Mr. White killing Safin's entire family under orders from Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
1) SPECTRE is an acronym for the 'Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion'. Fleming first introduced SPECTRE in his 1961 novel Thunderball.
Bond's first encounter with Oberhauser has the villain cry "cuckoo". This is a reference to Bond being a "cuckoo in the nest", the foreigner disrupting the happiness of Oberhauser's family life. Franz Oberhauser is supposed to be the son of the Fleming-created character, Hannes Oberhauser.
There was a 17 year age gap between James Bond and Madeleine Swann, his love interest, this didn't work. The touchy-feely script was miserable and tedious.
Taking place right after Spectre, the couple's idyllic vacation to Matera, Italy is about letting the past go. But before long, SPECTRE is wreaking havoc, causing James to question whether Madeleine can be trusted. Which prevents her from breaking the big news she was about to reveal: she's pregnant with their child.
In the first novel, Casino Royale, and the 2006 film adaptation, the 00 concept is introduced and, in Bond's words, means "that you've had to kill a chap in cold blood in the course of some assignment". Bond's 00 number (007) was awarded to him because he twice killed in fulfilling assignments.
SPECTRE would then reconvene in 2020 to celebrate Blofeld's 74th birthday which, in reality, was a trap set with the intent of killing Bond via Heracles nanobots. However, on Safin's orders, Valdo Obruchev reprogrammed the nanobots to instead target the members of SPECTRE, killing all in attendance.
Madeleine Swann carries a deadly secret in No Time To Die. Could James Bond's lover be the secret daughter of Christoph Waltz's Blofeld? Madeleine Swann could be revealed as the daughter of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in No Time To Die - here's why.
Safin's most defining trait is his desire for revenge against Spectre, as their leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld ordered Mr. White to murder Safin's family. However, despite Safin's tragic backstory, it becomes less of a factor in his motivation.
Before she can transfer the funds to Mr. White's accomplice Gettler, Bond confesses his love for her and resigns from MI6. In Venice, Bond uncovers Vesper's deception. Although he kills her enemies, Vesper cannot live with her actions and she locks herself in the elevator of a collapsing building and drowns.
Bond was instantly drawn to Vesper, and after enduring horrific torture in Casino Royale, they eventually fell in love. So much so that Bond planned to resign from MI6 in order to build a future with her.