Daniel Craig’s James Bond Swan Song Finally Premieres in London
It’s the end of an era. Daniel Craig has been playing James Bond for 15 years now; there are kids
Tristan Green
It’s the end of an era. Daniel Craig has been playing James Bond for 15 years now; there are kids and teens who don’t even remember another Bond. But that time has come to an end. Craig’s last Bond movie, No Time to Die, premiered this week after several pandemic-related delays. So what does this Bond’s swan song sound like? CELEB takes a look at the premiere and what’s next for Bond.
No Time to Die Finally Lives
No Time to Die marks the 5th Bond movie for Craig, over the decade and a half of being the man behind the tuxedo. This week, it received a royal premiere with two generations of royals there to give Craig a send-off. It also marks the 25th Bond film, and faced multiple obstacles along the way to premiere. Despite the woes on the journey to premiere, Craig was thrilled to be there, both to mark the occasion and to celebrate the long-awaited film. It’s been over a year since the film was supposed to premiere. The original release date was April 2020. But of course, the pandemic hit. It was pushed back to November, then pushed back again.
Per The Hollywood Reporter via MSN, “‘This is amazing,’ Daniel Craig said on the red carpet stage for his final Bond outing. ‘I really genuinely didn’t think we’d get here, but we are. … I can’t wait to celebrate with everybody.’
Joining Craig on the red carpet were co-stars Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris, director Cary Joji Fukunaga and musician Billie Eilish, whose title song, No Time to Die, has already won a Grammy.
‘I’m very proud of it,’ Craig said of the film. ‘We don’t make it for ourselves, we make it for people to see in the cinema, and we’re going to watch it on a huge screen this evening, which is exactly where Bond movies should be.’”
And of course since it was a royal reception, the royals turned out in their Bond-celebrating finest. Watching the premiere were royals of the highest calibur including Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Daniel Craig’s Run as James Bond
A blonde Bond?! It wasn’t that long ago that diehard Bond fans were turning their nose up at the announcement that Craig would be taking the spy reins. Did he have the look, the swagger, the smirk? Craig managed to put the naysayers concerns to rest right out of the gate with Casino Royale in 2006.
From there, Craig also headlined Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre. And it turns out he just may be the best. Pierce Brosnan? Sean Connery? Move over, Craig has taken the crown. According to one 007 head honcho, anyway.
In 2013, per Mirror, “HEART-throb Daniel Craig is the best Bond ever, claims 007 film boss Barbara Broccoli.
The producer, [then] 52, who has worked on every Bond movie since Octopussy in 1983, said: ‘He’s so gorgeous.
‘Ask any woman. He’s the most gorgeous man in the world.
‘Brilliant actor, and he is the greatest Bond ever. I’m not letting him go, not for a long time.’”
And Broccoli was true to her word; it’s been 8 more years of Craig-as-Bond, and they’ve been some of the most successful in the franchise’s history.
The Next Bond?
Now that the premiere is here and the film opens Thursday in theaters in the UK, it’s the end of one chapter and the start of another. But what is next for the enduring, decades-long film franchise? That’s less certain.
There has been chatter online about the possibility of a woman being the new Bond. Surprising no one, the hidebound chauvinists of the world have torn into the idea. But do they have a point? The character’s gender may be an intrinsic part of the role, and it may not be malleable. Craig himself has thoughts on the issue, believing that it would be a disservice to make Bond female instead of creating a new film franchise that would better suit the needs of a female lead. Per Fox Craig has said, “Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
Whatever the future holds, the next Bond has huge shoes to fill.