It's official: Lana Del Rey is behind the new 007 First Light theme song. While we already had a pretty good idea that the singer-songwriter behind Summertime Sadness and Say Yes to Heaven would be lending her voice to this upcoming James Bond game, it's no longer just speculation. Better yet, you can listen to it right now.
Even in gaming form, James Bond still needs a great tune to set the mood. Joss Stone's excellent, underrated theme, I'll Take It All, kicks James Bond 007: Bloodstone into gear as soon as that string section begins. Esthero's Nearly Civilized is just one facet of why Nightfire is iconic. In the case of 007 First Light, it was an eagle-eyed Redditor who first spotted that Lana Del Rey's ASCAP publishing records included an unreleased song, known as First Light, back in October.
The song, which is now available to listen to on all major streaming platforms and shares the game's name, is a collaboration between Lana Del Rey and Tomorrow Never Dies composer David Arnold. It has all the hallmarks of a classic Bond composition, including sparse piano, swelling strings, and, of course, a powerful vocal delivery. You can check it out in the YouTube clip below.
I think Lana Del Rey is a fantastic pick for First Light's theme song. You only need to listen to the one-two punch of 24 and Swan Song off her aforementioned album Honeymoon to hear that, but the proof is really in the recording of First Light itself. While you're considering locking in your 007 First Light pre-orders, I can tell you from seeing it in person at my 007 First Light preview at Gamescom that it's shaping up to be truly special.
Now I'm just left wondering how IO Interactive will implement the song throughout the game, but I've no doubt it'll feel pretty cinematic. We should get a good idea before long, though, with the developer revealing the full 007 First Light title sequence on April 17.
If you want to know more about IO Interactive's work on James Bond, be sure to check out my interview with art director Rasmus Poulsen about the influences behind Patrick Gibson's 007 and senior franchise producer Theuns Smit about bringing it to the Nintendo Switch 2 and casting the brand-new James Bond actor.