Bond Atlas

All films

Timeline of all films → Open the global map →
Film poster: Die Another Day

Film no. 20 · 2002 · Brosnan era

Die Another Day

TMDB rating: 6.0 / 10 · View on TMDB

Plot

James Bond replaces a diamond smuggler on North Korea's Pukch'ong coast and discovers Colonel Tan-Sun Moon trading weapons for African conflict diamonds. A warning from Zao exposes him; after a hovercraft chase Moon is presumed dead, while Bond is captured and interrogated for fourteen months. Exchanged for Zao, he learns that MI6 has revoked his 00 status because agents were compromised during his captivity. Bond escapes custody in Hong Kong and tracks Zao to Cuba on his own. There he encounters NSA agent Jinx and discovers a clinic that changes identities through extensive DNA treatment.

Back in London, diamonds taken from Zao lead to celebrated entrepreneur Gustav Graves. After an escalating fencing duel, Graves invites Bond to his Icelandic ice palace, where he presents the Icarus satellite as an artificial sun. M restores Bond to active service and identifies Miranda Frost as an embedded MI6 agent. In Iceland, however, Bond learns that Graves is the transformed Colonel Moon and that Frost betrayed him in North Korea. Icarus is intended to burn a corridor through the Demilitarized Zone's minefields so Moon's army can advance south.

Bond rescues Jinx from the melting palace and defeats Zao with his camouflaged Aston Martin. The pair then glide covertly into North Korea and stow away aboard Moon's Antonov. While Jinx defeats Frost, Bond diverts the Icarus beam and sends Graves out of the disintegrating aircraft. They escape the crash in a helicopter, taking the diamonds with them.

Facts

James Bond
Pierce Brosnan
Director
Lee Tamahori
Screenplay
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade
Producers
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Music
David Arnold
Title song
„Die Another Day“Madonna
Running time
133 minutes
Budget
$142 millionProduction budget according to The Numbers
Box office
$432 millionworldwide theatrical gross according to The Numbers
Release
UK: 20 November 2002US: 22 November 2002Germany: 28 November 2002

Travel route and filming locations

Gold numbers trace Bond's journey through the story, light markers show the real filming locations. Each layer can be hidden separately.

Map style

Bond's route · 9 stops

Total distance (great-circle)≈ 35,070 km

  1. Bond surfs ashore with two allies and infiltrates Colonel Moon's base as a diamond dealer. Once exposed, he pursues Moon by hovercraft across the minefield.

  2. Pukch'ong coast → Korean Demilitarized Zone · ≈ 291 km

    After fourteen months in captivity, Bond is exchanged for Zao at the Bridge of No Return. M revokes his 00 status because Western agents were compromised during his imprisonment.

  3. Korean Demilitarized Zone → Hong Kong · ≈ 2,114 km

    Bond escapes from a British medical ship and claims his old suite at the Rubyeon Royale. Chang, a Chinese intelligence officer posing as the hotel manager, points him towards Zao in Cuba.

  4. Hong Kong → Havana · ≈ 14,660 km

    Bond meets contact Raoul inside a cigar factory and watches Jinx at the beach. Raoul lends him a Ford and explains how Zao reaches the offshore clinic.

  5. Havana → Isla de Los Órganos · ≈ 146 km

    On the fictional clinic island, Bond discovers Zao's ongoing DNA treatment and Graves diamonds. Jinx kills Dr Alvarez before the facility goes up in flames.

  6. Isla de Los Órganos → London · ≈ 7,622 km

    Bond challenges Gustav Graves to a fencing duel at Blades before following M into a disused Underground station. There he receives his mission and the camouflaged Aston Martin.

  7. London → Jökulsárlón, Iceland · ≈ 1,682 km

    Graves unveils Icarus at the ice palace. Bond exposes him as Colonel Moon, discovers Frost's betrayal, rescues Jinx and defeats Zao during the chase across the lagoon.

  8. Jökulsárlón, Iceland → US air base, South Korea · ≈ 8,313 km

    M and NSA chief Falco send Bond and Jinx back across the border using Switchblade gliders. The base is not named on screen; the marker uses Osan Air Base.

  9. US air base, South Korea → Pyongyang air base · ≈ 242 km

    Bond and Jinx glide into North Korea and stow away aboard Moon's Antonov. In flight they defeat Graves and Frost, escaping from the cargo hold in a helicopter.

Filming locations · 19

  • doubles for Sea off the Pukch'ong coast (North Korea)

    Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama and Darrick Doerner rode Maui's large waves for the opening sequence.

  • doubles for Pukch'ong coast, North Korea (North Korea)

    Bond and his companions land on the North Korean beach, with the distinctive Gull Rocks beyond the surf.

  • doubles for Korean Demilitarized Zone (North Korea)

    Military training land used for parts of the hovercraft chase across the Korean DMZ.

  • Principal studio for Moon's base and prison, Hong Kong sets, the ice palace, gene-therapy clinic and much of the Antonov interior.

  • doubles for Havana (Cuba)

    Havana's waterfront, Bond's hotel and Jinx emerging from the sea, with the Balneario de la Palma anchoring the setting.

  • doubles for Isla de Los Órganos, Cuba (Cuba)

    Exterior views of Dr Alvarez's clinic on the fictional Isla de Los Órganos.

  • doubles for Havana (Cuba)

    Streets and market passages seen during Bond's drive through the film's Havana.

  • doubles for Havana (Cuba)

    Interior of Raoul's Havana cigar factory, where Bond asks about Zao.

  • Gustav Graves lands from his parachute jump in front of the palace to a reception by press and fans.

  • doubles for Blades club, London (United Kingdom)

    Lobby, gallery and central portion of the fencing duel at the fictional Blades club.

  • A service doorway at the south end of the bridge serves as the secret entrance to the fictional Vauxhall Cross station.

  • Principal exterior setting for the ice palace and the armed duel between the Vanquish and Jaguar across the frozen lagoon.

  • doubles for Iceland (Iceland)

    Additional glacier and landscape footage for the Icelandic ice environment.

  • doubles for Iceland (Iceland)

    Further ice and glacier imagery incorporated into the chase around Graves's palace.

  • doubles for Jökulsárlón, Iceland (Iceland)

    Controlled vehicle and effects work supplementing the chase on the ice.

  • doubles for Iceland (Iceland)

    The geodesic domes represent Graves's diamond mine and the tropical biodome beneath the ice palace.

  • doubles for US air base, South Korea (South Korea)

    Hangar and Chinook footage for the supposed American air base in South Korea; the glider interiors were also filmed here.

  • doubles for Pyongyang air base (North Korea)

    Runway and exterior work involving the Antonov in the finale.

  • Exterior setting for Bond and Jinx's secluded beach house in the closing scene.

Characters and cast

Bond

Bond girls

Villains

Henchmen

Allies

MI6

Others

Vehicles & Gadgets

Vehicles

  • Weaponised silver Aston Martin V12 Vanquish beside a yellow Ski-Doo from the film
    Film vehicles from the Iceland sequence: Bond's Vanquish with its weapons deployed and a guard's Ski-Doo.Photo: FR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

    Car2002

    Adaptive camouflage, ejector seat, rockets, target-seeking shotguns, thermal imaging and studded tyres

    Q hands Bond the silver Vanquish inside the disused Underground station. Cameras and display panels blend its bodywork into the surroundings, while rockets, shotguns, studded tyres and the ejector seat are used against Zao. Aston Martin supplied seven cars to the production, and four stunt vehicles built for the ice chase were converted to four-wheel drive.

    Driven by
    James Bond
    Specs
    5.9 L V12, 460 bhp, 190 mph

    Sources: 007.com: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish · Aston Martin: Vanquish & Vanquish S (2001–2007) · 007.com: Bond’s Ice Missions

  • Green Jaguar XKR from the film with a side missile and minigun deployed
    Zao's weaponised Jaguar XKR preserved as a film vehicle at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.Photo: Karen Roe from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Jaguar XKR Convertible (X100)

    Car

    Minigun, heat-seeking missiles, mortars, thermal imaging and hydraulic battering ram

    Zao's green XKR is the armed counterpart to Bond's Vanquish. Four of the nine Jaguars acquired for the production were converted into four-wheel-drive stunt cars over three months, with weapons and effects distributed among specialist vehicles. The pictured example, shown with a side missile deployed, survives as an exhibition car from the film.

    Driven by
    Zao
    Specs
    4.0 L supercharged V8, 400 bhp film specification, 155 mph

    Sources: 007.com: Jaguar XKR · Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust: 1998 James Bond XKR · IMCDb: Jaguar XKR in Die Another Day

  • Red 2002 Ford Thunderbird with its removable hardtop fitted
    Production Thunderbird representing the coral-painted roadster Jinx drives to the ice palace.Photo: Calreyn88 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Ford Thunderbird

    Car2002

    Production roadster in coral paint

    Jinx drives the Thunderbird when she arrives at the ice palace. Its coral paint was matched to her orange beach costume while recalling a colour from the original Thunderbird; Ford produced a 700-car 007 Edition for the 2003 model year as a film tie-in. The car carries no Q Branch weapons on screen.

    Driven by
    Jinx Johnson
    Specs
    3.9 L DOHC V8, 252 hp, approximately 129 mph

    Sources: Ford/MGM press release: Cars and Stars of Die Another Day · Edmunds: 2002 Ford Thunderbird specifications · IMCDb: Ford Thunderbird in Die Another Day

  • Black 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner with its soft top lowered
    Production Fairlane 500 Sunliner, the convertible type Bond drives through Havana.Photo: Sicnag · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner

    Car1957

    Two-tone convertible for Bond's drive through Havana

    Raoul lends Bond the cream-and-brown Sunliner for the drive to his hotel and onward to the clinic island. The classic American cruiser deliberately reinforces the sequence's image of Cuba. Several six- and eight-cylinder engines were offered for the 1957 Fairlane 500 Sunliner, and the exact engine fitted to the screen car is not securely documented.

    Driven by
    James Bond

    Sources: 007.com: Die Another Day – vehicle list · IMCDb: Die Another Day vehicles · Ford brochure: 1957 Ford cars

  • Grey early-model 2002 Range Rover L322 viewed from the front quarter
    Production Range Rover L322, the shuttle vehicle type used at Graves's ice palace.Photo: OSX · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

    Land Rover Range Rover L322

    Car2002

    Transport vehicle at the Icelandic ice palace

    Several Range Rovers carry guests and staff to Graves's event. The then-new L322 appears as an unarmed luxury off-roader and forms part of the film's unusually extensive Ford vehicle family. The brief shots do not establish which of the available engines powered the screen vehicles.

    Driven by
    Graves's staff

    Sources: 007.com: Die Another Day – vehicle list · IMCDb: Die Another Day vehicles

  • Osprey 5 hovercraft

    Other

    Militarised hovercraft fitted with machine guns and rockets

    Moon's unit uses hovercraft because they can skim across the DMZ minefields. Once exposed, Bond commandeers a smaller craft and transfers onto Moon's heavy command vehicle during the chase. Two large specialist machines and four smaller hovercraft were acquired and modified for the stunt work.

    Driven by
    Colonel Moon and James Bond

    Sources: 007.com: Die Another Day – Osprey hovercraft · American Cinematographer: Die Another Day action photography

  • Custom Graves’ Ice Dragster

    Other

    Rocket-powered ice vehicle with braking parachute

    Graves drives the single-seat dragster while pursuing Bond across the ice with the Icarus beam. Bond commandeers the open vehicle, outruns the melting surface and ultimately incorporates its braking parachute into his improvised escape sail. The dragster was a purpose-built effects vehicle with no production counterpart.

    Driven by
    Gustav Graves and James Bond

    Sources: 007.com: Die Another Day – ice dragster · 007.com: Bond’s Ice Missions

  • Weaponised silver Aston Martin V12 Vanquish beside a yellow Ski-Doo from the film
    Film vehicles from the Iceland sequence: Bond's Vanquish with its weapons deployed and a guard's Ski-Doo.Photo: FR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Bombardier Ski-Doo MX Z-REV

    Other2002

    Snowmobiles used in the ice-palace pursuit

    The guards deploy the yellow-and-black snowmobiles when Bond escapes from Graves's installation. The pictured machine comes from the film exhibition and stands beside the weaponised Vanquish; the compact REV platform was designed for quick changes of direction on snow.

    Driven by
    Graves's guards

    Sources: IMCDb: Die Another Day vehicles · Wikimedia Commons: Die Another Day Vanquish and Ski-Doo

  • Kinetic Aerospace Switchblade / PHASST

    Aircraft

    Folding single-seat stealth gliders

    Bond and Jinx jump from a Chinook and deploy the gliders in free fall to enter North Korea undetected. The film craft was based on the workable PHASST concept, a fast, low-radar-signature one-person transport with folding wings; the helicopter interiors were filmed on the ground against blue screen.

    Driven by
    James Bond and Jinx Johnson

    Sources: 007.com: Die Another Day – Switchblade gliders · IMPDb: Die Another Day aircraft

  • White Antonov An-124-100 on an apron beneath a blue sky
    Production An-124-100 representing the heavy freighter whose cargo hold contains the finale.Photo: Netspy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan

    Aircraft

    Heavy cargo aircraft and setting for the finale

    Graves, Frost and General Moon depart with the Icarus controls aboard an Antonov An-124. Bond and Jinx stow away, and their fight cripples the aircraft before they escape in the helicopter carried in its hold. Exterior footage used An-124-100 UR-82007, while the cargo hold and fights were created on studio sets.

    Driven by
    Moon's crew

    Sources: IMPDb: Die Another Day – Antonov An-124-100 · Antonov: AN-124-100 Ruslan

  • Olive-drab Royal Air Force Boeing Chinook HC2 taking off
    RAF Chinook HC2, the exact helicopter type seen at the supposed US base in South Korea.Photo: Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

    Boeing Chinook HC2

    Aircraft

    Transport helicopter for Bond and Jinx's glider deployment

    A Chinook carries Bond and Jinx from the supposed US base in South Korea to their drop zone. RAF Odiham supplied the hangar and aircraft, so the helicopters on screen are British despite the story identifying the force as American. Interiors for the Switchblade deployment were shot on the ground and combined with a digital sky.

    Driven by
    US special forces
    Specs
    two Honeywell T55-L-714A turboshafts at 4,168 shp each, 160 kt

    Sources: IMPDb: Die Another Day – Boeing Chinook HC2 · Royal Air Force: Chinook specifications

  • Black MD 600N light helicopter with a NOTAR tail boom on an airfield
    Production MD 600N representing the helicopter Bond and Jinx use to escape the falling Antonov.Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    MD Helicopters MD 600N

    Aircraft

    NOTAR light helicopter carried inside the Antonov

    As the Antonov breaks apart, Bond and Jinx start the stored MD 600N during free fall and escape from the cargo hold. The seven-seat light helicopter uses the NOTAR system instead of an exposed tail rotor, a distinctive arrangement visible on the screen aircraft.

    Driven by
    Jinx Johnson and James Bond
    Specs
    Rolls-Royce 250-C47M turboshaft, 600 shp take-off power, 134 kt cruise

    Sources: IMPDb: Die Another Day – MD 600N · MD Helicopters: MD 600N technical description

Gadgets

Production and trivia

  • The twentieth Eon Bond film arrived in the franchise's fortieth-anniversary year. Q explicitly calls the new Omega Bond's twentieth watch, while his storehouse displays props from earlier films.
  • Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios on 11 January 2002, after the Maui surfing footage had been shot in December 2001. The main location work took place in Britain, Iceland and Cádiz.
  • The ice-palace set took six months to construct. Its exterior and large parts of the surrounding landscape were extended digitally into the Icelandic setting.
  • Four Aston Martins and four Jaguars were converted to four-wheel drive for the Jökulsárlón chase. A temporary dam kept seawater out of the lagoon so its surface could freeze deeply enough.
  • The production benefited from Iceland's coldest February in six decades. Even so, the camera vehicle carried flotation equipment in case the clear ice broke.
  • Mara Bryan later described the digital tsunami and Icarus sequences as overambitious for the technology of the time. Specialist teams had to write custom simulation methods for the water.
  • Pierce Brosnan injured his knee during an action scene in Cornwall, temporarily halting production while he received treatment. Halle Berry required surgery after debris from a smoke grenade struck her eye.
  • Rosamund Pike made her feature-film debut as Miranda Frost. In addition to performing the title song, Madonna appeared in a cameo as fencing instructor Verity.
  • Madonna's title song received a Golden Globe nomination in 2003 and two Grammy nominations in 2004, for Dance Recording and Music Video. David Arnold composed his third consecutive Bond score.
  • The title sequence continues the narrative by depicting Bond's fourteen months of captivity and torture. It therefore advances story time instead of operating only as a graphic interlude.
  • The world premiere took place on 18 November 2002 as the Royal Film Performance at London's Royal Albert Hall. The venue was transformed into an ice palace for the evening.
  • With a $142 million budget, the film grossed $431,942,139 worldwide. Without adjusting for inflation, it remained the highest-grossing Bond film until Casino Royale.
  • The German version was produced by Berliner Synchron Wenzel Lüdecke. Thomas Danneberg wrote and directed the dubbing while also voicing John Cleese as Q.

Images

Icebergs drift across the broad Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon beneath a grey sky
Jökulsárlón supplied the frozen exterior setting for Graves's palace and the Aston Martin–Jaguar chase.Photo: Jakub Hałun · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wide sandy Holywell Bay with the distinctive Gull Rocks offshore
Holywell Bay doubled for the North Korean coast where Bond comes ashore in the opening.Photo: Thomas Tolkien from Yorkshire, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
La Caleta beach in Cádiz with the white Balneario de la Palma beside the sand
Cádiz became Havana; at La Caleta Bond meets Jinx and looks towards the clinic island.Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stone exterior of the Reform Club on Pall Mall in London
The Reform Club portrayed the lobby and gallery of the fictional Blades club.Photo: Philafrenzy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Panorama of the Eden Project's transparent geodesic domes in Cornwall
The Eden Project domes were incorporated into the frozen setting as Graves's diamond mine and biodome.Photo: Jürgen Matern · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Secluded sandy Penbryn Beach beneath wooded cliffs
Penbryn Beach supplied the exterior of the beach house in the closing scene.Photo: Stuart Logan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Weaponised silver Aston Martin V12 Vanquish beside a yellow Ski-Doo from the film
Film vehicles from the Iceland sequence: Bond's Vanquish with its weapons deployed and a guard's Ski-Doo.Photo: FR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Green Jaguar XKR from the film with a side missile and minigun deployed
Zao's weaponised Jaguar XKR preserved as a film vehicle at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.Photo: Karen Roe from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Red 2002 Ford Thunderbird with its removable hardtop fitted
Production Thunderbird representing the coral-painted roadster Jinx drives to the ice palace.Photo: Calreyn88 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Black 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner with its soft top lowered
Production Fairlane 500 Sunliner, the convertible type Bond drives through Havana.Photo: Sicnag · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Grey early-model 2002 Range Rover L322 viewed from the front quarter
Production Range Rover L322, the shuttle vehicle type used at Graves's ice palace.Photo: OSX · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
White Antonov An-124-100 on an apron beneath a blue sky
Production An-124-100 representing the heavy freighter whose cargo hold contains the finale.Photo: Netspy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Olive-drab Royal Air Force Boeing Chinook HC2 taking off
RAF Chinook HC2, the exact helicopter type seen at the supposed US base in South Korea.Photo: Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Black MD 600N light helicopter with a NOTAR tail boom on an airfield
Production MD 600N representing the helicopter Bond and Jinx use to escape the falling Antonov.Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Black Walther P99 shown in profile against a white background
Walther P99, Bond's service pistol and part of the equipment hidden inside his surfboard.Photo: U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  1. 007.com: Die Another Day – film overview(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  2. 007.com: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  3. 007.com: Jaguar XKR(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  4. 007.com: Bond’s Ice Missions(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  5. 007.com: Q Lab’s Gadgets(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  6. 007.com: 007’s Car Gadgets(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  7. 007.com: The Evolution of Visual Effects on 007(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  8. BFI: Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  9. The Numbers: Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  10. JamesBond.de: Stirb an einem anderen Tag(de)accessed 9 September 2026
  11. Deutsche Synchronkartei: Stirb an einem anderen Tag(de)accessed 9 September 2026
  12. Movie-Locations: Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  13. Reelstreets: Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  14. Kent Film Office: Die Another Day Film Focus(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  15. American Cinematographer: Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  16. Aston Martin: Vanquish & Vanquish S (2001–2007)(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  17. Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust: 1998 James Bond XKR(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  18. Ford/MGM press release: Cars and Stars of Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  19. IMCDb: Die Another Day vehicles(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  20. IMPDb: Die Another Day aircraft(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  21. Royal Air Force: Chinook(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  22. Antonov: AN-124-100 Ruslan(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  23. MD Helicopters: MD 600N technical description(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  24. Bond Lifestyle: Omega Seamaster 300M Chronometer 2531.80.00(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  25. Golden Globes: Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  26. Grammy Awards: Madonna(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  27. Royal Albert Hall archive: Royal Film Performance and World Premiere – Die Another Day(en)accessed 9 September 2026
  28. Die Another Day – Wikipedia (en)(en)accessed 9 September 2026