Ed Sheeran ‘hurt’ over James Bond theme song snub

The British singer has revealed he “started writing” the James Bond theme song before being brutally rejected in favour of Billie Eilish.

Ed Sheeran has revealed he “started writing” the James Bond theme song for the most recent film, No Time To Die, before he was overlooked for Billie Eilish.

The 31-year-old British singer suggested a last-minute change in directors for Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as 007 saw his involvement on the soundtrack canned.

“They changed directors and then they just changed scripts and that was it. We had done all the meetings, I started writing it,” Sheeran told That Peter Crouch podcast.

English director Danny Boyle, 66, was originally in the director’s seat for No Time To Die, before he dropped out in August 2018 due to “creative differences”, with American filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga, 45, replacing him.

The film was released in September 2021.

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Daniel Craig starred in the 2021 movie No Time To Die, his final outing as Bond. Picture: DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM

Sheeran said he had “done all the meetings” to write and record the No Time To Die song. Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/AFP

Despite the snub, Sheeran said he still has hopes to write and perform the opening song for the franchise.

“I’m not gonna pretend it didn’t hurt not doing it, but yeah I would [sing it in future]. If they came back I’d be like, ‘Yeah, of course.’”

Eilish, 20, became the youngest person ever to loan her vocals for the iconic James Bond theme song, which won her an Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards for Best Original Song.

The US singer, whose song shared the movie title, followed in the footsteps of Adele, who won the Oscar in 2013 for Skyfall, while Sam Smith also won in 2016 for Writing’s on the Wall, which was the theme song for Spectre.

US singer-songwriter Finneas O'Connell and US singer-songwriter Billie Eilish won Best Original Song for No Time to Die in March. Picture: Robyn Beck / AFP

“It feels crazy to be a part of this in every way,” Eilish said in a statement at the time of her announcement.

“To be able to score the theme song to a film that is part of such a legendary series is a huge honour.

“James Bond is the coolest film franchise ever to exist. I’m still in shock.”

Eilish’s brother, Finneas O’Connell, also co-wrote the song with his sister.

“Writing the theme song for a Bond film is something we’ve been dreaming about doing our entire lives,” Finneas said.

“There is no more iconic pairing of music and cinema than the likes of Goldfinger and Live and Let Die. We feel so so lucky to play a small role in such a legendary franchise, long live 007.”

Originally published as Ed Sheeran ‘hurt’ over James Bond theme song snub