In an interview to promote his upcoming film 'The Brothers Grimsby', Strong hints that Craig won't return for another James Bond movie.
- Feb 24, 2016
AceShowbiz - We'll likely meet a new James Bond in the next Agent 007 film. Daniel Craig, who has portrayed the iconic spy in four installments, has several times expressed his reluctance to do another Bond movie. While everyone is hoping he'll return for at least the "Spectre" follow-up, his fellow actor friend Mark Strong has hinted in a new interview with ShortList that Craig is really done with the franchise.
In the chat to promote his upcoming comedy "The Brothers Grimsby", Strong let the cat out of the bag when he's asked about the possibility of him appearing as a Bond villain in the future. "I'd have loved to have played the villain in a Bond movie while Daniel was doing it because he's a pal and that would have been great," he said.
"But I think he's come to the end of his Bond time and so it's probably never going to happen, but that would have always been great," he added. Asked if he would convince Craig to play Bond one more time, he replied, "Well, I will try, believe me, I will do my best. But there are powers at work greater than us who make all these decisions. He has been [wonderful] and he's loved it. But I think he feels like he's mined it. He's done what he wants with it. That point has come."
Craig debuted as Bond in 2006's "Casino Royale", followed by 2008's "Quantum of Solace", 2012's "Skyfall" and last year's "Spectre". A recent report said that MGM bosses were "so desperate to keep [Craig] in the famous tuxedo." They're even willing to delay the upcoming 25th Bond film until 2018 so he could film the series "Purity" first.
"Daniel leaving the franchise at this moment is something MGM cannot stomach. He is a major draw and a key player in terms of raising money for the films. As Bond he has brought in $2billion," a source told The Sun a few days ago. "They know he wants to do 'Purity' and had hoped to get the new film in cinemas next year, but they have vowed to push it back a year to help make his schedule easier."
