Question marks continue to loom over the future of Sony and MGM’s James Bond franchise. Since the release of last year’s Spectre, conflicting reports have emerged regarding the immediate future of not only Sam Mendes and Christoph Waltz, but also series star Daniel Craig.
Before the turn of the year, Sony appeared confident that Craig would reprise his role as the 00 agent at least one more time in anticipation of Bond 25. It’s sparked a will he, won’t he debate that shows no sign of letting up anytime soon, though Mark Strong has now weighed in on the matter.
Doing the press rounds for The Grimsby Brothers, Strong conceded that while the decision ultimately rests in the hands of the Powers That Be, he firmly believes that four movies in, Craig has “come to the end” of his tenure with the license to kill.
“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.powers at work greater than us who make all these decisions. I think he feels like he’s mined it. He’s done what he wants with it.”
It should be noted that Mark Strong is a close friend to Daniel Craig, so it’d be foolish to label these comments as unfounded. Sony’s as-yet-untitled Bond 25 is still very much in pre-production, with a report emerging earlier in the week that the inevitable spy sequel could circle back to Ian Fleming’s source material for inspiration.
Whether that’s a plot thread that Daniel Craig’s James Bond will be a part of will ultimately be told in time. Common logic would dictate that the possibility of Craig reprising would hinge on Sam Mendes directing – the pair have forged a close bond behind the lens thanks to Skyfall and Spectre – though the mooted reception of Spectre could instigate a hard reset ahead of Bond 25.
