Daniel Craig took on the iconic role of James Bond back in 2006 by starring in Casino Royale. The movie, which saw Craig’s rise as the 007 agent was highly praised as the franchise entered a new era of spies and gadgets.
With Daniel Craig’s last role in 2021’s No Time to Die, his co-star Ben Whishaw talked about the changes that should be brought to the franchise after Craig’s retirement. Stating that we are in the modern times now, Whishaw insinuated that there should be something explosive happening in the upcoming movie.
Daniel Craig’s Co-Star Wants The James Bond Franchise To Change
Ben Whishaw portrayed the role of Q in Spectre, Skyfall, and, No Time to Die. Depicting the role of the tech-savvy genius, the coming out of Q’s homosexuality scene was something that the actor did not like at all.
In a recent interview, the actor addressed the changing modern times. Ben Whishaw stated that if the James Bond franchise wants to continue existing then they have to change their thoughts and ideologies with the world. In an interview with Variety, the actor said that there should be something explosive occurring in the James Bond franchise in the future if they want to keep it interesting.
“If they want to continue with this character and the franchise, I think you can explode it and do anything. I don’t know what that should be, but it seems to me like it should be something quite radical, something really different. It’s got to change; it’s got to keep changing. We’re in different times now.”
In a separate interview, Ben Whishaw was asked whether he would return to the James Bond franchise after Daniel Craig’s exit. The actor bluntly replied that he would not be returning to the 007 spy franchise.
Ben Whishaw Will Not Return To The James Bond Franchise
Ben Whishaw is a part of the LGBTQ+ community in real life. In the 2021 film, his on-screen character Q was also made to come out as being gay. Although the film was trying to bring inclusivity for the people, Daniel Craig’s co-star felt that the scene wasn’t all that fulfilling. In an interview with The Guardian, the actor talked about what he really felt about the whole coming out scene.
“I think I thought, ‘Are we doing this, and then doing nothing with it?’ I remember, perhaps, feeling that was unsatisfying. For whatever reason, I didn’t pick it apart with anybody on the film. Maybe on another kind of project I would have done? But it’s a very big machine. I thought a lot about whether I should question it. Finally, I didn’t. I accepted this was what was written. And I said the lines. And it is what it is.”
In the end, No Time to Die received a rating of 7.3/10 on IMDB and 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ben Whishaw revealed that since his contract was up, he would not reprise his role in future Bond films. The 2021 movie is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
Source:Variety, The Guardian