No Time To Die well and truly marked the end of the line for Daniel Craig’s James Bond, as 007 went out in a blaze of glory in the Knives Out actor’s fifth and final film in the franchise. The hunt is now on for the seventh actor to play the super-spy, with speculation rife over who will be the lucky person entrusted with the keys to Bond’s Aston Martin. It’s the role of a lifetime, so naturally, countless actors have made their interest in the part known.
Among them is Craig’s No Time co-star, Billy Magnussen. Magnussen spoke with Express.co.uk ahead of the 25th Bond film arriving on Blu-ray and DVD and, when asked who he thinks should take over from Craig, he admitted he’d “love” to snatch up the gig himself. That said, he’s well aware that his American nationality and role in NTTD might drastically reduce his chances. Regardless, Magnussen is counting his blessings he got to be in the film.
“God bless Cary Fukunaga for daring to put me in this film and I thank him for it,” Magnussen said.
The Aladdin actor played Logan Ash, a colleague of Felix Leiter’s (Jeffrey Wright) at the CIA who Bond takes an instant dislike to, dubbing him “The Blonde” and nicknaming him “Book of Mormon.” Express asked Magnussen if he minded his character being the butt of the joke, but he revealed that he couldn’t be happier about it.
“I loved it!” he said. “That’s exactly what we were going for. I fought Bond, Bond makes fun of me, I’m cool with it! I got some punches in there!”
Magnussen went on to add that he was “nervous” about working with Craig initially, but he turned out to be “so welcoming.” He gushed: “The weight of the franchise is on his shoulders, and to still have elegance like that? Come on! That’s a true gentleman right there.”
Landing the Bond role probably is a bit of a long shot for Magnussen, as producer Barbara Broccoli has confirmed that she and her team are once again looking for a British star to play Ian Fleming’s creation next. 007 No. 7 will almost definitely be male, with a female Bond ruled out, though an actor of color remains a possibility. The search officially begins in 2022, which is the series’ 60th anniversary year.
No Time To Die is already available on VOD but comes out on disc on Dec. 21.
Published: Dec 17, 2021 05:27 pm