Goodbye, Daniel Craig: How the actor became bigger than the character James Bond

‘No Time To Die’ may be the actor’s last appearance as 007, but his portrayal of the secret agent is the closest approximation of the blunt instrument created by Ian Fleming

James Bond #25, No Time to Die, is finally going to be opening in theatres — in 3D no less — on September 30. The film has been in the news forever, from Daniel Craig insisting he would rather slash his wrists than reprise his role as the super spy and the original director, Danny Boyle, leaving due to creative differences to Cary Joji Fukunaga stepping in, and Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge joining as script writer.

The film, which was ready for release in April 2020, was postponed like many others thanks to COVID-19. Apart from Craig as Bond, Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann, who drove into the sunset with Bond), Ben Whishaw (Q), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter), Christoph Waltz (Blofeld), Rory Kinnear (Bill Tanner) and Ralph Fiennes (M) reprise their roles.

Newcomers include Rami Malek as the chief baddie Safin, Lashana Lynch who was assigned the 007 number after Bond’s retirement, and Ana de Armas. The plot has Leiter enlisting Bond’s help to find a missing scientist and the mandatory megalomaniac scheme by a maladjusted villain to rule the world.