Daniel Craig appears to be well and truly done with all the James Bond questions that have come his way since he first took up the 007 mantle in 2006.
The 56-year-old announced he was quitting the iconic suave British spy role after the release of No Time To Die in 2021; his fifth film in the role after Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre.
His tenure was the longest ever in the famous part, created by Ian Fleming on paper in 1953, before the spy series hit the big screen in 1962 with Dr No, starring Sean Connery.
After a stellar cast of Bonds including George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, Craig came onto the scene and became an all time favourite for 15 years.
But we get the impression Craig is getting a little fed up about questions surrounding who will take over the iconic role from him, which have whirred on for years ever since he announced his retirement from Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service.
When asked about who he’d like to see in the role next in a recent interview with Variety, Craig simply replied: ‘I don’t care.’
Ouch!
While Craig had enjoyed some brilliant roles in films before Bond – Road to Perdition, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Our Friends in the North, Layer Cake, and Munich – he will probably always be Bond to fans.
In a 2022 interview with The Times, Craig revealed: ‘I had genuinely thought I would do one Bond movie, then it would be over. But by then we knew we had a hit on our hands. I realised the enormity of it, so I said to Barbara, “How many more? Three? Four?” She said, “Four!” I said, “OK. Then can I kill him off?” She said, “Yes.”’
He also divulged the details of their decision to kill Bond off at the end of No Time To Die.
‘If we kill Bond, we can begin again,’ the actor said. ‘I think Barbara thought that too. But, bless them, the studio, MGM, were, like, “What are you talking about? Are you out of your minds?”‘
Film producer Barbara Broccoli runs the money-spinning franchise with her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, and this time last year gave a sobering update on when we can expect the next Bond instalment.
‘I go back to [1995’s] GoldenEye when everyone was saying “the cold war is over, the wall is over, Bond is dead, no need for Bond, the whole world’s at peace, and now there’s no villains” – and boy, was that wrong!’ she said.
‘Daniel gave us the ability to mine the emotional life of the character … and also the world was ready for it.’
She then added to The Guardian: ‘I think these movies reflect the time they are in, and there’s a big, big road ahead reinventing it for the next chapter and we haven’t even begun with that.’
This update came amid rumours Aaron Taylor-Johnson would take up the role, as well as other actors including Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Regé-Jean Page and Cillian Murphy.
A year on, and all those names are still in the mix at the bookies, but Normal People star Paul Mescal is now a favourite on Betfair.
Next on the list are The White Lotus star Theo James, Rebel Ridge actor Aaron Pierre, Happy Valley’s James Norton, and Masters of The Air’s Callum Turner.
Meanwhile, Craig has been enjoying a foray into comedy – with roles in Knives Out and Glass Onion – as he told The Times his new aim is to make people laugh.
‘I want to make people laugh – it’s cathartic. Or else we’re screwed,’ he said.
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