It was pretty obvious last year, after the release of Spectre, that Daniel Craig did not want to return to the iconic tux of British Secret Service agent James Bond. You might recall the quote we published last year where the actor stated "I'd rather break this glass and slash my wrists." Even after that, there is still speculation that Craig will actually be returning as Bond, and might be back for perhaps one or two films. But if it is that time for another Bond to take the helm, who will it be?
As of yesterday, reports went out everywhere saying that Daniel Craig had quit the role. However, these same reports are getting updates saying that Craig has yet to make a final decision. In fact, Daniel Craig has told the BBC that "no decision is likely be made for a while."
According to Fortune, Daniel Craig turned down a potential payday of $99 million to play the iconic agent for two more movies. The fact that the company is throwing this money at him and the actor still hasn't responded really reveals the likeliness that Craig will return, which is not very likely.
So, who is going to play the role if not with Craig? Right now, the usual names are floating around. One of them being Idris Elba, who would be the first James Bond of color. It would bring a lot of diversity, and the films could get away with following the new established Craig continuity if it wanted to. At this point, audiences probably would not mind.
Then there is also a rumor of Damian Lewis, who has had some espionage experience thanks to Homeland. Most are betting on Tom Hiddleston getting it, but UK bookmakers have recently suspended betting on him because of the influx of wagers on this actor, best known for playing Loki in the Marvel movies.
The issue with James Bond is the character has to be constantly changed to make him relevant, according to The Geek Church. Pierce Brosnan's last movie was Die Another Day, which featured a villain with a huge take-over-the-world scheme complete with a weapon of mass destruction and a lot of spy gadgets, including a car that could turn invisible. The lack of this film's success caused a rebooting of Bond when with Craig took the role.
Craig's Bond was a more realistic spy modeled who was more Jason Bourne than superspy. Craig was a Bond, who was just beginning his career, and would often feel great remorse at some of the duties that he had to perform. He was also known for going rogue a lot of the time, and it probably peaked with Spectre, which received mixed reviews.
So if there is going to be another Bond, will they reboot James Bond, again? At this point, is it even necessary? James Bond is such an established character in films that he doesn't really need another re-introduction, which means it would be up to the next actor's performance to give him the depth that he still needs to stay on screen.
