With his press tour now underway, promoting Logan Lucky, Daniel Craig is already addressing those pesky “rumors” that he has signed on for Bond 25. In an interview with Boston radio station Magic 106.7, Craig said the following: “No decision has been made…I’m not holding out for more money or doing anything like that. It’s just all very personal decisions to be made at the moment.”
Craig’s denial that anything is officially signed is not surprising. It also won’t do much to squash
Winter is Coming
rumors about his return–for one or two more films. (This writer is in the camp believing Craig’s return for Bond 25 is imminent.) At the moment, both Craig and EON productions are likely enjoying the amounts of free publicity this whole question has created. So Bond fans should not expect anything official any time soon.
At the same time, it is reasonable to expect Craig to be back as 007. Why? First and foremost, because he’d like to be, as he noted himself in 2016:
"There is no other job like it…if I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly."
There is also the matter of distribution rights for James Bond films. Five studios are currently vying for those rights; and a new deal with EON will be less of a risk with Craig in place, for at least Bond 25. In other words, it comes down to money — if not for Craig, at least for EON and the studio. No doubt, Craig is (and has been) getting pressure to jump back into the role.
Craig will appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he will likely be asked the question again. We’ll have to tune in to see if his response the same.