James Bond: Was Daniel Craig’s 007 Born Rich Or Not?

Daniel Craig’s time in the role of James Bond has seen the franchise clarify all manner of backstory for the character, but was he born into wealth or not? Beginning in 2006 with the grim, intense origin story Casino Royale, Daniel Craig’s five films as James Bond are soon set to come to a close with the upcoming (frequently delayed) No Time To Die.

In the years since he took over the role, Craig has reinvented the suave super-spy as a PTSD-afflicted, Bourne-influenced hard-ass who spends more time brooding than quipping and winking at the audience. It’s a phenomenally popular revival of 007, who risked losing relevance after 2002’s campy misfire Die Another Day.

However, while Craig’s tenure in the role of James Bond has been largely critically well-regarded, the actor’s 007 outings have brought about more than their fair share of franchise plot holes. The more recent Bond movies have started to include more continuity between installments, something the franchise previously shirked. Madeleine Swann has outlasted any Bond girl before her, while Judi Dench’s M became the first MI6 employee to die in action during a Bond movie, and the series even offered hints to James Bond’s backstory. However, after four films in the role, it remains unclear whether Craig’s Bond was born wealthy or not, something the movies have referenced numerous times and have had ample chances to clarify.

The confusion begins back in Casino Royale, wherein the character’s love interest and Craig’s first Bond girl Vesper Lynd guesses that the then-new Bond is someone who grew up poor. It’s never stated whether or not her hunch is right in-film, but the question has been addressed numerous times in the proceeding Craig Bond outings without any resolution. In Skyfall it initially seems as though Lynd’s assumption is proven wrong, when the franchise reveals Bond’s sprawling titular ancestral estate and live-in groundskeeper Kincade (almost played by former Bond Sean Connery in an unfortunately nixed cameo role).

However, Spectre then reveals (in a twist egregiously borrowed from Austin Power’s third outing Goldmember) that Blofeld’s father took Bond in after he lost his parents, raising a young 007 as if he were his own and raising the ire of Blofeld in the process. During this exchange, Blofeld calls the young Bond “poor” and notes his father taught him to ski, something a child of wealth would likely have encountered earlier in life. So, was Daniel Craig’s version of Bond born rich or not? It’s not a question that the series seems likely to answer, but with the newer Bond movies borrowing from the Bourne franchise, it could be seriously interesting to either confirm that James Bond was born into wealth and privilege, meaning his work at MI6 was made possible as a result of his family’s status, or that the character wasn’t well off and as such had a harder time establishing himself in the shadowy organization’s inner circle.

About The Author

Cathal Gunning
(1447 Articles Published)

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies and TV online since 2020. His obsessions include The Simpsons, Stephen King, the Scream series, and the horror genre in general. He has spent more time thinking about Stranger Things than the writers of Stranger Things, and he has never seen a Star War.

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