James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli And Michael G. Wilson recently revealed that they had to fight to kill Daniel Craig's 007 in No Time to Die.
The pair recalled having to persuade MGM that bumping off the Craig version of cinema's most iconic super spy was the right call in an interview with Empire. "When Daniel had had some rest [after Spectre], I said to him, 'That's not the end of the story. You can't go out like that,'" Broccoli said. "'It's a great starting place to see Bond in retirement and how would he deal with it? Let's think about that.' He agreed, and Michael and I started with the writers, coming up with where we would go. We were in that headspace." Wilson then chimed in: "We had to convince the studio, of course. You can imagine their reaction!"
While Craig occasionally indicated that he was growing weary of the 007 role prior to No Time to Die, he admitted he will miss playing James Bond following the film's release. The English actor highlighted the collaborative nature of working on the franchise as one of the things he's saddest to say goodbye to, although he said he'll also pine for everything else about it, too. Craig added that headlining such an iconic franchise was a privilege and said that no matter how rewarding the remainder of his career is, nothing is likely to top playing Bond.
Who Will Replace Daniel Craig as James Bond?
The search is now on for Craig's replacement as 007, with names such as Henry Cavill and Idris Elba frequently thrown into the mix by fans. Broccoli recently weighed in on the subject, saying whoever ultimately lands the role will have to possess one key attribute. "Any actor that would be thinking about this has got to think about how it would change their life," she said. "Daniel [Craig] certainly was reluctant when we first approached him and as I say about him, his life changed, but he did not change."
There has been speculation that the next James Bond will be a woman, however, at least one member of the No Time to Die cast believes this would be a mistake. Ana de Armas, who played CIA agent Paloma, insisted in a recent interview that there's "no need" for a female actor to take over the part. De Armas argued that the franchise should focus on making the roles available to women in the James Bond franchise "more substantial," instead.
All 25 James Bond films (including No Time to Die) will be available to stream on Prime Video from Oct. 5.
Source: Empire