As I write this we are mere hours away from No Time To Die finally opening in North America and audiences here getting a chance to see just how Daniel Craig has chosen to say goodbye to the iconic James Bond. In the past, Craig has seemed like he’s more than ready to close this chapter of his career, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t elements of making these movies he won’t miss.
While Daniel Craig did eventually walk back his statement that he’d rather slit his wrists than play James Bond again, that doesn’t mean Craig wasn’t ready to say goodbye to playing James Bond. And yet he tells EW that he will actually miss a lot about making the movies, simply because there really isn’t another franchise quite like it. According to Craig...
I’ll miss everything, I think. I’ll miss the collaboration. I mean, hopefully I’ll keep working and I’ll have lots of other lovely jobs, but it’s very, very, very rare air. Apart from Marvel movies, there aren’t movies that are as big as this. I’ve had the privilege of being involved in it. … It was there before me, and it will be there after me. But I’ve had a chance to be part of all of this, and if you can’t get it up for a Bond movie as an actor, what can you get it up for? So, yeah, I’ll miss it a lot.
While movie franchises are as big now as they’ve ever been, there are few with the history of James Bond. Daniel Craig is the sixth man to play the part on the big screen, with the movies have been going strong for more than 50 years. It’s quite the elite club that Craig is part of, and he appreciates that fact.
Whatever else Daniel Craig ends up doing, he’s got his own small franchise moving forward with Rian Johnson’s Knives Out and its upcoming sequel, it likely won’t ever be as big as James Bond. Every actor who has played the super spy has had their career defined by it, and Craig will almost certainly be no different.
Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond has certainly been unique. While the previous films followed individual adventures that were largely disconnected, Craig’s Bond acted as a reboot complete with an origin story and a serialized narrative. His story had a beginning, and based on the way No Time To Die is being marketed, it seems likely it will also have some sort of ending.
Based on the international audience and critical response, the ending seems like it will be a high point for Daniel Craig. No Time to Die has been received well by most who have seen it. And starting this evening even more will be able to do so, and say goodbye to Craig’s James Bond.
