Is Daniel Craig Right To Come Back As James Bond?

The actor is officially returning for Bond 25, but should we be glad he’s taking that licence to kill for one last spin?

 

SO, THE WORST-kept secret in movies is out. Daniel Craig is back as Bond for a fifth and, it seems, final time with Bond 25 (a name I’d be delighted if they kept, if only to imagine Adele singing, “Bond Twenty-Fiiiiiiiiive!” at the Oscars).

From production company Eon’s point of view, keeping Craig on the team makes sense. As with Skyfall and the 50th anniversary, the 25th Bond will be kind of a big deal, and breaking in a new 007 might be more hassle than it’s worth.

There could be any number of reasons behind Craig’s decision to stick around. It might be the notion of becoming the longest-serving Bond when the film is released in 2019, pipping Sir Roger Moore by days. And he doubtless received an offer with lots of zeroes (and, I hope, a 007 after the decimal point). But the reason he’s given is the same reason I’m happy — excited, even — to see him return. “I want to go out on a high note,” he said, an acknowledgement that Spectre wasn’t the victory march he’d hoped for. It starts strongly, but the second Christoph Waltz shows up, it monologues itself into a coma.