The composers started their writing separately, Cornell in his apartment in Paris, and Arnold in his house in London. In Prague he also met the score composer, David Arnold, who suggested writing a song «that echoed the film score». Cornell then went to Prague to visit the film’s shooting, and was much impressed with the film’s emotional content after he was shown a rough cut of Casino Royale.

But Daniel Craig’s casting as James Bond intrigued the musician, and he decided to accept the job. Cornell declared he liked the Bond movies, particularly the ones with Sean Connery, but that he «wasn’t really a big fan of the last several movies». Cornell thought it was a strange offer, considering that he is American, and imagined that he would perform a secondary song in the film instead of the main theme.

Lia Vollack, Sony Pictures’s President of Music, called Chris Cornell inviting him to make a song for the new Bond movie, which would “reflect the dramatic new direction of James Bond”, with a “strong male singer”.

Who sang the song for casino royale