Cary Fukunaga, director of the forthcoming James Bond film No Time To Die, has opened up about his experience trying to draw Grace Jones into the film. Speaking to Total Film, the True Detective-director said: “I took a snorkeling 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.”

Jones has previously acted in the franchise, playing May Day in 1985’s A View To A Kill, and earlier this year rumours surfaced that the 70-year-old legend would be returning to James Bond in the upcoming No Time To Die. This was fueled by her post on Instagram saying “EXCITING NEWS COMING SOON” with a picture showing a view of the ocean in Jamaica, where the film was being shot. 

However, shortly after that, reports alleged that the musician stormed off the set of the film when she found out that her role was more minor than anticipated. So Fukunaga’s underwater wooing was for naught, after all.

The loss of Jones from No Time To Die was just one more setback in the film’s production, following the exit of original director Danny Boyle and his co-writer John Hodge. The film bounced back by bringing Phoebe Waller-Bridge in to punch up the script, and reactions to last week’s trailer release have been roundly positive.

Jones meanwhile will not be left twiddling her thumbs, as she was recently announced as the curator of next year’s Meltdown Festival, which takes place June 12-21 at London’s Southbank Centre. Meanwhile, recent posts on her Instagram suggest that she’s been in the studio working on something yet to be revealed.