Wait, isn’t James Bond dead?

Well, technically yes. Or more accurately, Daniel Craig’s Bond bid an emotional and heroic farewell at the end of No Time to Die having been blown up into tiny little pieces.

Is he really dead though?

Yes. And mentioning otherwise to Mr Craig may get you in trouble.

So, what happens next?

They’ll be a reboot of some sort, although whether we’ll get another origin story similar to Casino Royale is debatable. It’s possible a new Bond will just hit the ground running, like recent incarnations of Batman. And given what’s going on in the world they’ll be plenty to keep him busy.

So, who’s going to play Bond?

We’re glad you asked. If you click on the link right here (?) you can have a look at what we think.

And what about M, Q and Moneypenny?

There’s a very good chance that everyone will be replaced as Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw are intrinsically linked to Craig. For his part, Whishaw has stated he’s received no contact whatsoever. Although, given there have been no casting announcements that wouldn’t be unusual. And given what happened in the Craig films we can’t see Blofeld making an imminent return. At least, we hope not.

Has this happened before?

Not exactly. Of the six actors to have ‘formally’ played James Bond (we’re not counting David Niven here) none have actually died in service prior to No Time to Die. Although some of the supporting cast have remained the same across different Bonds, such as Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny and Bernard Lee as M (Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore).

So, the ‘Craigiverse’ – no, we don’t like that either – could continue?

It’s possible that MI6, with Fiennes, Harries et al could continue either with Lashana Lynch’s Nomi being central to the story, and perhaps a new Bond introduced down the line, with ‘James Bond’ as more of a codename. Although, given we get his childhood introduced in Skyfall and SPECTRE that last bit seems unlikely. And the codename thing is unlikely to be popular with fans. That said, Lynch has stated previously that she has ‘…come in right at the perfect time…’ and that she’d ‘…like to see a continuation…’.

Expanding the franchise, you mean?

Perhaps. Marvel and Harry Potter have done it, so it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to think the Bondiverse – we’re not keen on that either – could be expanded. And given that Amazon now owns 50% of EON Productions through their 2021 purchase of MGM (although Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson retain full creative control) there is a distinct possibility of expanding into the streaming world. However, Broccoli and Wilson have both declared their unwillingness for this, with the former telling Total Film ‘We make films. That’s what we do.’

So, do we know anything at all?

Not really. As we said, it’s likely that a line will be drawn after the Craig films and Bond will start again with an entirely new cast. Just without the origin story. Probably. And what tone and style that film will take will depend greatly on who is on board to write and direct.

We’ll keep you posted…