James Bond: 5 Reasons Why EON Should Keep Daniel Craig’s Timeline (And 5 Why They Should Reboot 007)

No Time To Die was one of the best James Bond movies of all time and sent actor Daniel Craig out on a high note. While the ending of the film caught many moviegoers off guard, it did raise a lot of questions as to where the franchise will go next.

Obviously, James Bond is going to return, but will the 26th Bond movie retain the continuity that Craig’s films established or will it do something completely different? There’s a case to be made for both options, but only the folks at EON Productions can only choose which to take.

Reasons To Keep Craig’s Timeline

The Franchise Could Maintain A Consistent Continuity

Continuity has never been the Bond franchise’s strongest asset, as story details and cast members have shifted from movie to movie, but that all changed as soon as Casino Royale came along. Each Daniel Craig 007 movie set up the next, with Bond’s story having a consistent beginning, middle and end.

Granted, if the franchise is rebooted, EON could just do that again with a new continuity, but it runs the risk of repeating the problem the previous movies had, especially if the supporting cast remains. Keeping it in Craig’s canon except with a new actor could maintain an easy-to-follow continuity, which is more important now than it ever was.

The Series Still Has A Modern Feel

The minute that Casino Royale began, fans knew that Craig’s Bond was going to be different from the likes of Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan. A running joke in the fan community is that the Bond movies do a trend while the iron is ice-cold which makes them feel very dated, but that was very much not the case with Craig.

Craig’s Bond is birthed from the era of Jason Bourne and Christopher Nolan’s Batman, but he has this panache about him that helped him outlive both of them. There was a consistently modern feel to Craig’s films that the producers risk losing if they reboot the franchise.

Craig’s Bond Has An Outstanding Supporting Cast

James Bond wouldn’t be James Bond without his supporting cast, with Craig’s tenure having the greatest supporting ensemble in Bond history. After two movies where Bond only bounced off of Judi Dench’s M and Rory Kinnear’s Bill Tanner, Skyfall would bring in Naomie Harris’s Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw’s Q, and Ralph Fiennes’ M.

While Craig’s final film also marked the end of Jeffery Wright’s turn as Felix Leiter, it also expanded the cast with Lashana Lynch’s Nomi and Ana De Armas’ Paloma, with both being welcome additions to the Bond cast. Craig has been surrounded by an uber-talented supporting cast and it would be a shame if they had to be discarded.

It Could Show Bond As A Family Man

No Time To Die came packed with a major twist, something no other Bond movie would do. Towards the final act of the film, it’s revealed that Bond’s love interest Madeline Swan had a daughter named Mathilde, with the ending revealing that James Bond is the father.

Naturally, the climax implies that Bond won’t get to spend much time with his daughter, but the idea of Bond as a family man could be an interesting concept. Should a recast Bond return to Madeline and Mathilde’s lives, it would be both devastating and full of story potential.

The Franchise Could Further Evolve A Brutal Bond

Before Casino Royale, Bond wasn’t a stranger to fisticuffs and shootouts, but he was unbelievably pacifistic compared to Craig’s Bond. Craig’s Bond had a dark side to him, being just as likely to brutalize his foes as he was to shoot them. It was a different, yet welcome change to the character, with Craig’s 007 movies having the best fights.

That said, as the movies went on, Bond’s ferocious side wasn’t necessarily softened, but it became more refined. If Bond survives the ending of No Time To Die, it would be interesting to see whether or not he would fall back on his brutality or if he’ll soften over time.

Reasons To Reboot The Franchise

Resurrecting Bond Would Feel Cheap

Spoilers for No Time To Die, but at the end of the movie, James Bond sacrifices his life to save the world one last time. The scene is a shock, but feels earned and comes with the emotional gut-punch of knowing he did it to protect the love of his life and his daughter.

That emotion resonance would be cheapened if it was revealed that Bond isn’t actually dead, instead, he’s still alive and now at least a decade younger. It ruins the impact of how Craig left the franchise, so it’d be best for EON to just leave that alone.

It Would Be A Chance To Do Something New

The ending of No Time To Die is sad, but it opens up the opportunity for EON to take the franchise in a whole new direction. The new James Bond could refine the sci-fi elements of the pre-Craig Bond movies, hopefully without going full Austin Powers.

Another direction they could go is to make Bond a period piece, returning to The Cold War, with a slightly more low-tech approach to the gadgetry. Whatever direction the producers at EON decide to take the franchise, it’s in their best interest to make this new Bond’s world as different from Craig’s take as they possibly can.

A New Bond Needs A New World

Daniel Craig has already clarified that after five films, No Time To Die is his last, which means that EON is 100% going to recast the character. No matter who they cast, whether it be Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, Rege Jean Page, Henry Golding, Sam Heughan, or whoever, it’s a safe bet that they will be playing a brand new James Bond.

As fascinating and in-depth as Craig’s universe is, it would be highly uncomfortable for an actor to simply step into his shoes just to see that universe go on. Instead, it’d be a lot easier for a new actor to not have to worry about all that baggage and instead start fresh in a new universe.

The Franchise Should Take A Second Look At The Books

Craig’s Bond did touch on the works of Ian Fleming, with his first outing being based on the first novel that Fleming wrote, but they never revisited plots that had been adapted prior. With some of those movies being nearly 60 years old, perhaps it’s time to see a remake of the likes of Moonraker or From Russia With Love.

What’s interesting is that there is a lot of differences between the novels and the movies, so if EON ever decided to revisit these stories, they wouldn’t be wrong to more faithfully adapt them. That said, it isn’t going to be a complete one-to-one translation, as some facets of Fleming’s work haven’t aged well at all.

Daniel Craig Should Be The Only Bond Of His Universe

It has been said before and it will be said again, Daniel Craig had a great run, with the actor vacating the role of James Bond with his head held high. No Time To Die, one of his highest-rated outings, was the perfect way for his Bond to bow out.

This, however, would make it a bitter pill to swallow for someone else to play his version of James Bond, especially after the ending he got. Hopefully, the next Bond becomes just as revered, but it should be because they are playing their Bond and not someone else’s.

About The Author

Seth Rector
(172 Articles Published)

Ever since he was a young lad, Seth Rector has had a love for all things that reek of geek. Movies, tv shows, comic books, and video games are what he considers his wheelhouse. A writer at heart, Seth says he’s over the moon now that he can write about what he loves. When he isn’t writing for Screen Rant, he is putting his film degree from Lights Film School to good use by working on future film projects.

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