Daniel Craig, the actor who plays James Bond, recently discussed whether he had any regrets about quitting the popular spy-action series. Craig was chosen to play the MI6 agent in 2006’s Casino Royale, which served as a narrative reset after Pierce Brosnan left the James Bond series in 2002 with Die Another Day. The actor kept playing the part for four hugely successful prequels, ending his run with 2021’s No Time to Die, in which Bond was absent.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Best of Today podcast, Craig discussed whether or not he regretted leaving the James Bond series via Variety. When asked if he had any regrets, the actor responded that he had not and claimed he was “lucky” to have spent 17 years as a part of the franchise. Craig said, “No, none at all. I had an incredibly fortunate 17 years of my life making this. I literally want to spend the next 20 years of my life trying to unhook it all and try and put it into a place because it was incredible. I left it where I wanted it to be. And that I was given the chance to do that with the last movie.”
Bond was first featured in Ian Fleming’s 1953 book Casino Royale, but it wasn’t until 1962’s Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as 007, that the character was brought to life onscreen. A legacy that is strongly ingrained in contemporary pop culture was created over the course of the following 60 years as the role was represented by six performers in 25 films. The series had a fantastic opportunity to recast Bond with a new face when he gave his life in the suspenseful conclusion of No Time to Die.
Even though fans are demanding for information on Craig’s replacement, franchise producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have said they won’t start looking for a replacement actor until 2023. Broccoli clarified that they still need to decide how to proceed with the next instalment of the protracted movie series. It appears the filmmakers are keen on restarting the franchise entirely, despite some of the audience expecting to continue Bond’s most recent continuity in a spinoff movie with either Nomi (Lashana Lynch), the new 007 agent from No Time to Die, or Paloma (Ana de Armas), a CIA agent.
A younger actor might need to be hired if the James Bond series is to be reinvented. Fans have enjoyed Richard Madden from Game of Thrones and Eternals, as well as Henry Cavill from Superman, as potential candidates for the new 007 role. Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Avengers: Endgame, have endorsed Regé-Jean Page’s portrayal of Bridgerton in their most recent film, The Gray Man, praising his unmistakable magnetism. Fans can only conjecture as to which star will play the next James Bond because the next instalment of the franchise is probably years away from production.