Daniel Craig offered a very blunt three-word response when asked who he wants to play the next James Bond.
The former Bond actor, 56, played the iconic character for five films in the franchise, between 2006 and 2021.
And as the rumour mill bubbles at speculation as to who will be taking over from him, Daniel has made his feelings on a new casting known – albeit bluntly.
Variety asked Daniel and his Queer co-star Drew Starkey on Thursday: ‘If you were to pass the James Bond torch, who would you love to see play him?’
The question prompted a laugh from the Knives Out star as he matter-of-factly replied: ‘I Don’t Care.’
Daniel Craig offered a very blunt three-word response to Variety when asked who he wants to play the next James Bond (Pictured last month)
The former Bond actor, 56, played the iconic character for five films in the franchise, between 2006 and 2021 (Pictured in 2012’s Skyfall)
The comment comes after it was reported that fans are set to wait half a decade to see another 007 flick return to their screens.
The five-year delay is reportedly caused by ‘delays to production and casting’ as the next spy is still yet to be confirmed.
A year following’s final No Time To Die release in September 2021, producer Barbara Broccoli said that there was a year wait before filming the next flick.
But, to the unhappiness of 007 fans, it is likely to be much longer as filming has still not started.
In June, 2022, Barbara said: ‘There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond.
‘We’re reinventing who he is, and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.’
And that foresighted deadline has now passed and not only has filming not started, but the leading man has still not been cast.
One film insider told the Mirror: ‘The best case scenario is a new Bond film in cinemas by the end of 2026 – which is five years after No Time To Die – and that’s if things get shaken up soon,’
As the rumour mill bubbles at speculation as to who will be taking over from him, Daniel has made his feelings on a new casting known – albeit bluntly (Pictured in September)
Variety asked Daniel and his Queer co-star Drew Starkey on Thursday: ‘If you were to pass the James Bond torch, who would you love to see play him?’ (Pictured in 2006’s Casino Royale)
While another source told the publication that there were rumours of problems with scripts and delays.
Daniel hung up his bowtie and tux three years ago and has been leaning into more experimental roles since, ranging from a fun camp gentleman sleuth with a Southern drawl to a man who falls in love with a drug addict in Mexico City, in the 1940s.
The English actor also appears to be shedding the stern and meticulous aura that comes with playing the macho secret agent, and blossoming into ostentatious fashion choices, most recently marked by his grown out hairdo at Venice Film Festival.
Elsewhere more recently, style outlets celebrated the star’s ‘freaky’ era after he debuted in LOEWE’s FW24 campaign, looking almost unrecognisable in yellow tinted glasses, knitted jumpers and intricately beaded trousers.
Daniel’s first post-Bond venture came in the form of Rhian Johnson’s Knives Out (2019), where he played an amateur sleuth with a very camp dress sense and an over-the-top New Orleans-esque accent.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Daniel explained that it was important for him to ‘kill’ Bond so he could artistically move on – which is why he was grateful for the character’s fatal end in 2021’s No Time to Die.
Daniel hung up his bowtie and tux three years ago and has been leaning into more experimental roles since (Pictured in Casino Royale)
His most recent role (left) is a touch more sincere and ardent, as he plays an American expatriate in 1940s Mexico City – who finds himself entranced by a young man, played by Drew Starkey, 30 (right)
‘One, for the franchise, was that reset, start again, which [the franchise] did with me,’ he revealed.
‘So let’s kill my character off and go find another Bond and go find another story. Start at [age] 23, start at 25, start at 30.
‘The other was so that I could move on. I don’t want to go back. I suppose I should be so lucky if they were to ask me back, but the fact is I need to move on from it.
‘The sacrifice that he makes in the movie was for love and there’s no greater sacrifice. So it seemed like a good thing to end on.’