Lana Del Rey has officially been revealed as the voice behind the title track for the upcoming James Bond video game 007: First Light, publisher IO Interactive confirmed. The track, which carries Del Rey's signature melancholic style, marks her return to the franchise after a previous attempt to contribute to a Daniel Craig film went unused.
Del Rey registered the song "First Light" with ASCAP late last year under her legal name, Elizabeth Grant, but gaming fans and internet detectives had already pieced together her involvement long before the official announcement. The track is now live on her YouTube channel, offering a preview of what players will hear when launching the game.
"Can't say I'm surprised to see you running toward the sun," Del Rey sings in the opening lines. "It's the first light of day... Ah, you're ready? All the fates just watch you, dying just to know whether you'll play your life like a game." The lyrics cleverly nod to the fact that 007: First Light is a video game, while also echoing her 2009 breakthrough hit Video Games. Veteran James Bond film composer David Arnold, who scored five official 007 films between 1997 and 2008, created the orchestration.
Del Rey's involvement with the Bond franchise is not new. She previously recorded a track called "24" intended for Spectre, the franchise's 2015 installment, but the song was ultimately shelved in favor of Sam Smith's "Writing's On the Wall." This new title track represents her first successful collaboration with the iconic spy series.
The timing of the reveal comes as IO Interactive faces ongoing challenges keeping 007: First Light under wraps. Earlier this week, Indonesia's ratings board accidentally published the game's ending publicly, forcing the developer to accelerate its damage control. With a May 27 launch date now just six weeks away, IO has been particularly protective of story details to avoid further spoilers.
007: First Light aims to launch a new Bond game trilogy with high-profile casting. The game stars Dexter: Original Sin's Patrick Gibson as a younger version of 007 in an origin story, supported by Gemma Chan from The Eternals, The Walking Dead's Lennie James, and musician Lenny Kravitz as villain Bawma. Kravitz's character memorably subjects Bond to the threat of crocodile attack at one point in the narrative.
The game arrives May 27 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is planned for later in the summer.
Author Emily Chen: "Del Rey brings an understated coolness to this, and pairing her with a legendary Bond composer is exactly how you make a game tie-in that doesn't feel like a cash grab."
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