Hunt For New James Bond Actor Has Been Revealed
A new James Bond is on the way.
The upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die (2021) will mark the last time that Daniel Craig, whose tenure as the beloved spy began in 2006, portrays him. With Craig stepping down from the role, the question of just who the next James Bond will be has arisen. According to Deadline, the hunt will begin starting next year.
James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli detailed on the program BBC’s Radio Today that she doesn’t want to begin thinking about recasting the character until next year. She spoke very fondly of Daniel Craig, even alluding to the fact that she doesn’t like to think about him not reprising the role again. She stated that Craig, “… enabled us to explore the emotional life of [James] Bond, to go deeply into the personal, complexity of the character.” She also iterated that she only thought it fitting that, “…Daniel to have his time of celebration,” without having it overshadowed by the excitement over who will get to play James Bond next.
Anticipation for No Time To Die (2021) has been ramping up in recent weeks, which after a whole host of pandemic-related delays, will finally release in theaters on October 8, 2021. According to IMDb, the plot involves one of James Bond’s former CIA friends dragging him out of retirement in order to track down a dangerous criminal in possession of potentially fatal new technology. The film’s director, Cary Fukunaga, recently commented on his experience working on the film and detailed that in making the film he paid mindful attention to the modern societal climate and was very cognizant of making sure that James Bond fit appropriately into today’s public vernacular.
Daniel Craig’s retirement from playing James Bond will effectively add him to the list of former 007s. He will join Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan as a past contributor to the James Bond legacy. Daniel Craig first took on the role in 2006 with Casino Royale. He went on to portray the famous spy four more times in Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre, and now No Time To Die (2021). In a recent interview, Craig opened up about how he feels about leaving a character that has been a part of his life and has done so much for his career over the past 15 years. He was candidly emotional about his feelings regarding his departure.
Even though Daniel Craig has decided to end his tenure as James Bond, the franchise is alive and well. Amazon’s recent acquisition of MGM (the studio that currently holds the rights to James Bond) initially sparked questions as to what would happen to the franchise in the future and whether or not the franchise would continue to receive theatrical releases with any new movies. However, Barbara Broccoli quelled all fears when she reassured fans that Amazon is committed to continuing to release James Bond movies on a theatrical platform.
It is unknown who will claim the role of James Bond in the future. However, what is certain is that James Bond is a character that transcends generations and that has the unique ability to continue to evolve with the ever-changing ebbs and flows of both society and cinema.
