Although Bond and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) rode off into the sunset at the end of Spectre, their honeymoon seems short-lived. While many fans presumed that Swann would be killed off in the film’s opening, an allusion to Tracy’s (Diana Rigg) death in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), it looks like No Time to Die has something far more interesting in store than the dead-wife trope. Bond’s paranoia appears to drive a wedge between him and Madeline. His trust issues come naturally, having been betrayed by Vesper in Casino Royale, which became the defining moment in Craig’s take on the character. Bond’s inability to form lasting relationships feels crucial to the stakes of this film. Whatever happens between Bond and Madeleine, it appears that some time passes between the ambush at the opening of the trailer and the later minutes that see a retired Bond called back into action by M (Ralph Fiennes) and Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright).

It seems that Bond’s position as MI6’s top agent has been passed on to Nomi (Lashana Lynch), who is rumored to have taken over the 007 number. But the need for Bond to return to duty is yet another thread throughout Craig’s films, in that the character must once again prove he’s relevant in the modern world. This is also a meta-commentary on the franchise itself, one that his consistently been tasked with evolving over the decades and has, more than a few times, come in behind the espionage pics of the new school, like the Mission: Impossible, Bourne, John Wick and Fast and Furious franchises. Add Black Widow to the mix, which just saw its first trailer released Tuesday, and it’s easy to see why Bond outings have to distinguish themselves among their counterparts. Bond movies frequently crib a bit from the current popular media, be it Star Wars (1977) in Moonraker (1979); The Bourne Identity (2002) in Casino Royale; or The Dark Knight (2008) in Skyfall, but they always do so with a bit of classicism that still feels unique and unexpected among competing franchises.

Among those unexpected aspects is the return of Blofield. It was unclear how substantial the role would be, and he wasn’t featured on the character posters released earlier this week. But it seems that Waltz’s turn as Bond’s most recognizable, and frequently appearing, adversary will be crucial and set Bond’s final mission in motion. Blofield’s master plan may not be over yet, or it may just be part of a larger conspiracy, one that sees Rami Malek’s masked villain Safin take the stage. The Phantom of the Opera get-up, masking a scarred visage, gives Safin the appearance of a supervillain and could be the pic’s conscious effort to play with some of the cinematic language of the superhero films that have dominated the box office. Swann also seems to have ties to the character and a mask of her own. It’s worth remembering that she is the daughter of the now-deceased Bond villain Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). While these connected story threads, which benefit from audiences rewatching the previous four entries, may have been what saddled Spectre, the trailer suggests that they will be bolstered by more propulsive action sequences, and the suspense of this being a final outing.

Safin notes that Bond could be his own reflection. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Craig’s Bond faced with a dark mirror image of himself. Vesper, Silva and Blofield have all been utilized as the darker sides of Bond. Vesper is Bond lacking loyalty. Silva is Bond lacking country. And Blofield is Bond lacking family. Each reveal essential elements about Bond’s character that his rough exterior hides. So what will Safin reveal? What is he lacking that Bond has? Or perhaps, more interestingly, what does he have that Bond lacks? The dialogue between Bond and Safin in the trailer suggest that it may be immortality, yet another avenue for meta-commentary on the legacy of James Bond. What better sense of closure for Craig’s tenure than for his Bond to confront a manifestation of death head-on? Regardless of whether James Bond lives or dies, the 25th film looks to prove in April, with some sense of finality, that nobody does it better.