James Bond producers want the new 007 on board for at least a decade.
In an interview with , producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson explained what commitment they want from the next James Bond.
“We don’t just cast someone for a movie,” Broccoli said. “We’re casting someone, hopefully for at least a decade. It’s a big decision to make and we’re nowhere near it.”
That’s right – the new 007 hasn’t been chosen yet. At least not yet.
“When we get to a point like we are now, we have to think about the trajectory of the Bond films and the storylines and where we want to take them,” she added. “So that’s really the main focus in the beginning. Once we have a sense of where we want to go, we’ll start thinking about casting.”
Ever since Daniel Craig stepped down as 007 after No Time to Die, fans have been busy speculating on who will take the mantle next. We’ve seen the likes of Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, and even Tom Hiddleston.
But Broccoli went on to explain why taking on the role is a big decision.
“Any actor who thinks about it has to think about how it would change their life,” she explained. “Daniel was certainly reluctant when we first approached him and as I said of him his life changed but he didn’t. He was always the same amazingly wonderful person in the beginning as he is now.”
Craig first auditioned for the 2006 Bond film Casino Royale and spent the next 16 years as a notorious British secret agent.
“You become an ambassador for cinema and people recognize you as associated with the character,” Broccoli added. “It has many different elements. But the time commitment is certainly a long-term commitment, and not everyone is ready for that – multiple images over many years. Daniel is 16 years old.”
The next James Bond who never played 007
It remains to be seen who will take on the role. But it sounds like the next Bond film is about to start fleshing out its villain.
“We always sit down with our writers and start thinking about what the world is afraid of?” Broccoli said. “The first thing we think about is, ‘Who is the Bond villain?’ We’re trying to focus on that as a kind of overstory, and then we also want to look at Bond’s emotional life and what’s in store for him personally that he hasn’t had to deal with before. So he has two big themes in the films – one is geopolitical and the other is personal.”
Would you like to read more about James Bond? Find out why some 007 favorites might be too old to play James Bond and why John Williams would love to score a Bond film.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. you can follow him Twitter.