Daniel Craig Says He’s Done With Bond; Is The Search Now On For New 007?
Maybe he had one too many martinis but Daniel Craig was in full-on truth mode when he seemed to indicate in an interview with the UK’s Time Out that his time as Britain’s favorite spy was over. When asked if the actor, who plays the iconic James Bond for a fourth time in the upcoming Spectre, would do another 007 film, the answer was salty, to say the least. “I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists,” said Craig. “No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”
When pressed if that meant he was done with Bond for good, Craig replied, “I haven’t given it any thought. For at least a year or two, I just don’t want to think about it. I don’t know what the next step is. I’ve no idea. Not because I’m trying to be cagey. Who the f**k knows? At the moment, we’ve done it. I’m not in discussion with anybody about anything. If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”
MGM and Sony Pictures launch Spectre in the UK on October 26 before its domestic bow the following week. MGM, which holds the rights along with producer Barbara Broccoli’s EON Productions, declined to comment as did Sony. Craig is still, officially at least, contracted to do one more Bond film. Speculation has been rife for some time now that Craig, who turned 47 early this year, was looking to put away his Walther PPK and smoking jacket.
The actor took a beating during the production of Spectre, undergoing knee surgery in April to repair an injury caused during filming. News of Craig’s injury first surfaced in February when the actor reportedly hurt himself while filming a fight scene. Production execs at the time moved to deny claims the incident would affect production. Since then, they’ve had to make further public statements affirming Craig’s involvement with the franchise. Rumors surfaced in June that Craig had decided to walk away from his remaining commitment, prompting Sony reps to state that Craig was still on-board to fulfill his contract.
Should, and at this stage it is still a big should, Craig move on, there will be no shortage of choices to step into the tailor-made shoes. The likes of Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba have all been long-mooted. The potential choice of Elba even led to a minor eruption in the blogosophere with Bond novelist Anthony Horowitz on the receiving end of a digital smackdown when he suggested the Luther star may be “too street” to portray 007.
As for Daniel Craig’s thoughts on who should follow him, whenever that might be?
“I don’t give a f**k. Good luck to them! All I care about is that if I stop doing these things we’ve left it in a good place and people pick it up and make it better. Make it better, that’s all.”
Who do you think should be the next Bond?
Related stories
'Spectre' Trailer: James Bond Is Coming, And Stuff Is Exploding
New Bond Theme 'Writing's On The Wall' Released - Listen Here
'Spectre' Sets Sam Smith To Sing New James Bond Theme Song
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
