Daniel Craig on James Bond franchise: ‘I’d miss it terribly’
In the midst of the Spectre press tour, 007 star James Bond said that he would “rather break this glass and slash my wrists” than play superspy James Bond in another movie. Craig has been clarifying those comments and walking back their implications for a year now, and this weekend at the New Yorker Festival, he sounded a little more interested in a return to the series.
“When asked 20 feet from the end of the marathon, ‘Will you do another marathon?’ the answer is simple,” he joked. “It’s like, ‘No, I won’t.’” He went on to note how much he enjoyed working on the series: “There is no other job like it…if I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly.” (Craig’s statements were captured on video by Phil Nobile Jr. of Birth.Movies.Death.)
According to Craig, there have been no discussions about a follow-up to Spectre, which earned over $880.7 million at the global box office but was unquestionably a qualitative step down from its predecessor Skyfall. (Counterargument: If you’re a fan of Crazy Bond, Spectre might count as a high point.) “There’s no conversation going on,” said Craig, “Because everybody’s just a bit tired.” Craig is 48 and has done four Bond films; previous Bond Pierce Brosnan was roughly the same age, with the same number of Bond films under his belt, when he was let go from the series. Then again, Brosnan’s films never made the kind of money Craig’s last couple of movies have – so there may be some added incentive to bring Craig back for a final film.