It's been an open secret for some time now that Daniel Craig has a laundry list of reservations about returning to the James Bond franchise for his fifth and final contracted film. Conflicting reports regarding his interest in the series have emerged over the last few months, with the future of the character largely up in the air as a result. Today comes a new report that suggests Craig may finally be hanging up his Beretta.
Actor Mark Strong ("The Brothers Grimsby," "Kingsman"), who has been friends with Craig for quite some time, was talking to ShortList when the outlet suggested he'd make a great antagonist in the Bond series. His reply was more telling than expected.
"Do you know what, I'd have loved to have played the villain in a Bond movie while Daniel was doing ti because he's a pal and that would have been great," Strong said. "But I think he's come to the end of his Bond time and so it's probably never going to happen, but that would have always been great.
"Having played so many villains, it would have been wonderful to have done the villain of villains, if you like. Because a Bond villain has a status all of his own."
ShortList then asked Strong if he could push Craig to do one final turn as the International Man of Mystery, to which he said, "Well, I will try, believe me, I will do my best. But there are powers at work greater than us who make all these decisions."
Craig has become one of the most popular Bonds in recent memory thanks to the more grounded tone his films have taken. His first entry into the series, 2007's "Casino Royale," instantly became a franchise classic while 2012's "Skyfall" is the highest-grossing film in Bond's 54 year history as a film franchise.
"He has been [wonderful] and he's loved it," Strong continued. "But I think he feels like he's mined it. He's done what we wants with it.
"That point has come."
Sam Mendes, who directed both "Spectre" and "Skyfall," has also said that he will not be returning to the series, leaving yet another potentially massive hole in the franchise.
