WELP. It’s dang official: Daniel Craig is returning to MI6 for one final stint at the multi-weaponed wheel of iconic character James Bond.
Though he’s long been suspected to be coming back for Bond 25, Craig put all speculation to bed earlier today when he personally confirmed his presence in the new film during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Craig had done the media rounds in the hours leading up to the appearance with Colbert and had maintained a steady distance throughout, keeping the reveal for the late night CBS talk show.
The incumbent Bond confirmed his reprisal with a blunt “yes,” before adding that he’s officially known for a “couple of months.” But in the same breath he also confirmed that this film, his fifth overall, would be his last, asserting that he wants “to go out on a high note, and I can’t wait.”
Craig, quite famously, stated that he would rather “break this glass and slash my wrists” than return to the Bond franchise in a 2015 interview conducted immediately shooting on Spectre had wrapped.
Speaking with Colbert, Craig explained that that was “a really stupid answer,”:
There’s no point making excuses about it, but it was two days after I had finished shooting the last movie and I went straight to an interview where someone asked, ‘Would you do another one?’ and I went, ‘No!’
Craig has been serving as 007 since 2006’s Casino Royale, with subsequent roles in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, 2012’s Skyfall, and the 2015 instalment Spectre.
The as-yet untitled Bond 25 has a tentative release date of November 8th, 2019. Long-time Bond film screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are once again returning to pen the story.
