Daniel Craig On Why They Had To Kill James Bond For The First Time In “No Time To Die”

Whoever is blessed enough to become the new James Bond, aka 007, will be stepping into the next installment with a clean slate. Even though I’d love an installment exploring Bond’s younger years – aren’t we all? – nothing’s confirmed yet.

For many years, Daniel Craig played the “hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character” across five installments in the hit franchise.

But Craig knows when to say it’s done. And unfortunately, “No Time To Die” was the right time for him to say goodbye to the spy.

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Daniel Craig’s journey as the secret MI6 agent started in 2006 with the hugely successful “Casino Royale”.

Before the premiere of the first movie, the franchise’s producer Barbara Broccoli had already set a timeline for when Daniel Craig will hang his coat as James Bond.

“I was driving away from the Berlin premiere of Casino Royale with Barbara Broccoli,” Craig, 54, told the U.K.’s The Times in a new interview released on Sunday. “I had genuinely thought I would do one Bond movie, then it would be over. But by then we knew we had a hit on our hands.”

“I realized the enormity of it, so I said to Barbara, ‘How many more? Three? Four?’ She said, ‘Four!’ ” Craig added. “I said, ‘OK. Then can I kill him off?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ “

Craig then shared that it was his decision to pull the plug on his thrill seeking days as one of the most professional fictional spies of all time.

“I said, ‘This is it. I don’t want to do any more,’ “ he revealed.

Back in November 2019, news of Daniel Craig’s final bow as James Bond surfaced, with fans excitedly predicting who should fill Bond’s shoes – or suit – next. Names like Idris Elba and even Liam Neeson floated around.

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Daniel Craig On Raising the Idea To Kill Bond In His Final Movie

I think it was a shocking moment for thousands of fans around the world when Bond died in the film, poignantly titled “No Time To Die”. Now, Craig is telling us that it was actually his decision to have the character die.

“Real tragedy is when you have absolutely no choice,” Craig told The Times.

“If we kill Bond, we can begin again,” the actor said of his reason to push for the death of the British spy. “I think Barbara thought that too. But, bless them, the studio, MGM, were, like, ‘What are you talking about? Are you out of your minds?’ “

“There was reluctance,” he confessed. “So we had to do it in secret, really.”

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with “James Bond” right now. Come back here often for all 007 Franchise spoilers, news, and updates.

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