Daniel craig

Why he will return for one last 007 mission.

Apologies to Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Aidan Turner and anyone else on the list of favourites for the next James Bond. You’re going to have to wait a little longer, as Daniel Craig finally confirmed that he’s donning 007’s tux once more. “We’ve just been trying to figure things out… I always wanted to [return], I needed a break,” he says.

Craig’s 00-status had seemed in doubt since the widely circulated remarks that he’d “rather slash [his] wrists” than play Bond again, and would only consider it “for the money”. Combine that with the neatly wrapped ending to SPECTRE, and it seemed like his tenure might be up. But those controversial comments were made just two days after SPECTRE finished filming, when returning was the last thing on his mind. “There is no point in making excuses about it,” Craig says, expressing regret over his flippancy.

“Instead of saying something with style and grace, I said something really stupid.”

But it seems that much-needed break has done the trick, and in the interim Craig has found time for a number of varied projects. As well as his recent turn as bottle-blond “incar-ce-rated” crim Joe Bang in Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky, he’s also wrapped on South Central riots drama Kings, and he’s set to return to the small screen in the upcoming miniseries adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s novel, Purity.

Next to nothing is known about Bond 25 yet, besides Craig’s confirmed involvement and the release date. Will Christoph Waltz’s Blofeld be back to terrorise him? Is Léa Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann still on the scene? If Craig’s game, could Sam Mendes be convinced to return and complete a trilogy? Whatever happens, the untitled sequel will be Craig’s fifth Bond film, and come 2019, he’ll overtake Roger Moore as the series’ longest-serving 007, having occupied the role for 13 years by that point (though Moore and Sean Connery have appeared in more films). “I think this is it,” Craig muses of his run. “I just want to go out on a high note and I can’t wait.”

ETA | AuTumn 2019 / Bond 25 will opEn in Two yEArs.