With No Time To Die hitting theatres in April next year, you might want to watch some previous Bond installments to satisfy your appetite for the franchise. April is still a few months away, so it would only be fair to dig into the archives. There have been 24 Bond movies in total by Eon Productions and two other films by different production houses.

But should you watch all of them? Not at all. In preparation for No Time To Die, its advisable to only watch films that are somehow tied to the upcoming movie. These films will help you understand the characters and story better. So. grab your popcorn, sit on your favorite couch and binge-watch the following 007 masterpieces.

Spectre

This is the most obvious one since it ties into No Time To Die. In Spectre, supervillain Blofeld (Christopher Waltz) was arrested, and we can be certain it’s not the end of the road for him yet. The trailer for No Time To Die showed him in prison. It has also been confirmed that he will play a significant role in the film, despite there being another supervillain by the name Safin (Rami Malek). Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), Bond’s love interest from the previous film, will also be returning.

Spectre wasn’t the best Bond film. With a 63% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was simply above average. We can thus expect No Time To Die to be a major improvement. After all, there have never been two bad Bond films in a row.

Thunderball

It was revealed that Captain Marvel co-star Lashana Lynch will be the new 007 in No Time To Die. This doesn’t mean that she’s the new James Bond. Lashana’s character has simply taken over Bond’s code name in MI6 after Bond briefly retired. So, Bond will still be back in the movie, and he’ll work alongside the female 007.

Interestingly, No Time To Die won’t be the first time there’s a female double-O agent. In 1965’s Thunderball, there was an unnamed woman who was a double-O agent and possessed the license to kill. She didn’t play a big role in the film, but her presence meant a lot.

Skyfall

We are definitely excited that a woman will be involved in the action a bit more in No Time To Die. However, this also won’t be the first time this has happened in a Bond movie. In Skyfall, Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) was more involved in the proceedings.

In the opening scene, she even mistakenly shoots Bond off a moving train as he is fighting a villain. This wasn’t really her fault because she told M that she doesn’t have a clear shot, but M told her to fire anyway. So, this will definitely be a good film to watch as you wait for Bond 25.

Goldfinger

Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 is one of the most iconic cars in movies. Perhaps the only car more iconic than it is the Batmobile. In the first No Time To Die trailer, we saw Bond driving this vehicle. It even fires bullets from the headlamps… because this is a 007 movie.

The first-ever movie in which Bond used the vehicle was 1964’s Goldfinger. So, if you’d like to see Bond driving the vehicle for the first time ever, watch this film. The vehicle normally has front and rear bullet shields, a smokescreen, revolving license plates, and fully-functional machine guns.

Casino Royale

Bond’s CIA friend Felix Leiter is confirmed to return in No Time To Die. The character first appeared in Casino Royale and has always been more than glad to help Bond. So, if you aren’t familiar with him and you wish to know him better, it’s advisable to watch Casino Royale.

Leiter is played by Jeffrey Wright, who will also star as Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming Batman movie. This time, Leiter is said to be the one asking Bond for favors.

From Russia With Love

Need to keep up with the history of Blofeld? Go all the way back to From Russia With Love. That’s the very first time that the menacing supervillain appeared in a Bond film. At the time, only his hands and back of the neck were shown. The purpose of this was to make him more mysterious.

He went on to appear in full form in Thunderball. Ever since then, different actors have played the character, the latest being Oscar winner Christopher Waltz. Even though Waltz hasn’t been convincing so far, we hope he’ll do better in No Time To Die.

Die Another Day

The title is actually similar to No Time To Die. Actually, both titles mean the same thing when examined grammatically. Dear Bond producers, where’s the creativity? Anyway, as the upcoming film introduces Lashana Lynch as an MI6 agent, it’s important to remember another Bond girl that was a badass: Jinx.

In Die Another Day, Halle Berry starred as NSA Agent Jinx. She was also the Bond girl, so there was a bit of mixing business with pleasure. As the first black Bond girl, Jinx was widely praised. We hope the character makes a comeback in the future.

Quantum Of Solace

No Time To Die’s main supervillain Safin (Rami Malek) is a former assassin of S.P.E.C.T.R.E (Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). He was once sent to kill Mr. White, who happens to be a former member of Quantum and S.P.E.C.T.R.E, but he failed. Also note that Mr. White is the father of Bond’s current love interest, Dr. Madeleine Swann.

Mr. White first appeared in Casino Royale, but his story was continued in Quantum Of Solace. Now, to piece all these things together, you probably need to watch this film as well. It wasn’t a great Bond film, but it’s watchable.

Dr. No

Led by Blofeld, the fictional organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E has played a huge part in most Bond movies. In this film. Dr. No is also said to be working for the organization. Like many other Bond villains, he has his own army, but he is answerable to Blofeld.

Blofeld doesn’t make an appearance, but the presence of S.P.E.C.T.R.E looms large. Dr. No is said to have offered his skills to the organization after both America and the Soviet Union rejected him. He is also a mad, mad scientist who is eager to cause unjustified havoc.

You Only Live Twice

Still, with S.P.E.C.T.R.E, the organization also plays a huge role in this film. In You Only Live Twice, the organization tries to help an unknown Asian superpower to cause a nuclear war between the Americans and the Soviets.

The film was a huge success both commercially and critically. Connery was set to retire after the film, but he later changed his mind and returned for Diamonds are Forever. We won’t be surprised if Craig changes his mind too if No Time To Die becomes a huge success.