Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has confirmed that her new film will be Daniel Craig's final outing as 007. Speaking...
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Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has confirmed that her new film will be Daniel Craig's final outing as 007.
Speaking on the No Time To Die podcast, named for the upcoming release, she told fans that the blockbuster will be the actor's 'fifth and final'.
The British actor, 52, whose first appearance as Bond was in Casino Royale in 2006, has also previously spoken about leaving the franchise after the next instalment.
Barbara said: "We consider this film to be a classic Bond film but with a modern twist."
"It's also vitally important because it is the fifth and final one that Daniel Craig is going to be doing, so it's a culmination of everything his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It's a pretty epic film, I have to say."
However, in March this year, a movie source said: "I don't think Daniel is finished with James Bond, despite his previous claims. He was in this same position after Spectre came out, where he said publicly and loudly that he was done and then, as time passed, he just wasn't."
"There is something about this part that scratches an itch and he's not prepared to see it go to another actor yet."
Craig has previously confirmed the Bond film will be his last after starring in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.
The star discussed his anxieties over the new script and admitted feeling 'physically very low' was the reason behind the film's five-year delay in a recent interview with GQ Magazine.
The actor said: "I was never going to do one again. I was like, 'Is this work really genuinely worth this, to go through this, this whole thing?' And I didn't feel... I felt physically really low."
"So the prospect of doing another movie was just, like, off the cards. And that's why it has been five years."
His last turn as Bond was in 2015's Spectre, which at the time was reported to be his final outing as the spy.
Craig said that the 'physicality' of Bond is 'a preparation, in a way', because he would not get the script beforehand.
He said: "It's making my head go, 'This is what it's going to be'."
Trying to prepare for a role in one of the most popular film franchises in modern cinema without a script also caused him to have anxiety.
He said: "I have suffered from it in the past. I have suffered because it's been like, 'I can't cope. I can't deal with this'."
Actress Lea Seydoux has also given fans an idea of what to expect in No Time To Die ahead of its November release.
She described her character's relationship with James Bond as "a modern love story", explaining fans will see a completely new side to the agent, as Bond settles down with Dr. Madeleine Swann after retiring from active service.
Speaking on the Official James Bond Podcast, Lea explained why it was so important to see Bond fall in love again after having his heart broken by Vespa (played by Eva Green) in 2005's Casino Royale.
She said: "I think that it's also because of Bond and we needed Madeline to tell Bond's story I mean it was important to see Bond in love again because he had this relationship with Vespa but she betrayed him."
"But this time I think she's the real love in a way, I think it's really the film is a love story it's a story between the two of them so it's very unusual for a Bond film to see James Bond in love right? And I think it's quite modern in a way."
'In this film it's even more psychological and more emotional and I think that it's something that Daniel as James Bond created with this character.
'He created a character that is more vulnerable and who has flaws and I think that's what we like as an audience and it's true that James Bond is like a... it's not a real world right? But what we like is that in this world we can relate to the characters.'
The 25th film in the franchise finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.
Last month betting was suspended on Tom Hardy becoming the new James Bond following reports he has been named as Daniel's replacement.
Speculation has reached fever pitch in recent days amid claims the actor, 43, had been offered the iconic part after a successful audition.
All bets on who will be the next Bond are off, after Hardy's odds were slashed from 6/1 to 1/1, amid the swirling rumours about the spy franchise's new lead.
The Venom star has been one of the bookies' favorites to take over the role since the market opened in September last year when he was 9/1 to be cast as Bond.
When the bookmakers market closed, James Norton was the second favourite actor to bag the part at 9/4, followed by Idris Elba (11/2), Sam Heughan (6/1) and Richard Madden (7/1).
Oddschecker spokesperson Callum Wilson: "For years we've heard speculation about who will replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, and finally it seems that English heart-throb Tom Hardy is the man for the role."
"The versatile Hardy would certainly be a popular choice – and attracted 54% of all bets in the 24 hours before the market was suspended."
The movement seems to have shifted following a report from the Vulcan Reporter, in which it claims Hardy is next in line for 007.
