007 Producers Don’t Know How James Bond Will Return

The producers of James Bond still have no clue what they’re going to do next with the character. James Bond, the iconic international superspy, was originally created by author Ian Fleming in 1953’s Casino Royale. The character, who later appeared in 11 more novels and 2 short story collections, was initially brought to life in the 1962 film Dr. No but has now appeared in a total of 25 blockbuster films across the intervening decades.

Although James Bond was first played by Sean Connery, five more actors have taken up the tuxedo since he retired the role. The most recent Bond performer was Daniel Craig, whose branch of the franchise began in 2006 with Casino Royale. His run was characterized by a level of character continuity that the previous Bonds had never attempted before. Daniel Craig ended his tenure in the role with his fifth film, No Time to Die, which came out this fall.

Now that Craig is out of the game, producer Barbara Broccoli spoke about the future of Bond at the Contenders Film: New York event put on by Deadline. Acknowledging the speculation about who will play Bond next and in what context, she admitted that they still don’t know the future of the character. However, she told fans to “rest assured James Bond will be back,” echoing the title card at the end of No Time to Die that promises the return of the character in a new adventure. Read the full quote below:

We’ll figure that one out, but he will be back. You can rest assured James Bond will be back.

Although there must be conversations about who is playing Bond next happening behind closed doors, the general public has no knowledge of what actors are being considered. Although several non-British actors have thrown their hats in the ring, including Ryan Reynolds, who wants to play Bond as a Canadian gin-drinker, there is an extremely high probability they will land on another performer from the U.K. Other actors that have been pushed by fans include Lashana Lynch, who appeared as the new 007 in No Time to Die, and Idris Elba.

If there’s one thing that the James Bond franchise has proven over the years, it’s that the character has longevity. There may be years in between entries (in fact, the longest recorded gap is 6 years, a tie between 1989’s The Living Daylights 6-year gap before 1995‘s GoldenEye and Spectre‘s gap before No Time to Die, which was delayed a year by the pandemic), but the indefatigable spy always comes back in one form or another. Hopefully there is a casting announcement soon so fans can settle in and await the next entry without the turmoil of so much mystery.

Source: Deadline

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