Daniel Craig wanted his Bond to die so he could move on with his career

Daniel Craig had a franchise-rejuvenating run as James Bond that concluded with last year’s No Time to Die. Many hoped he had one more outing left in him, but the five-time 007 knew it was time to hang up the keys to his Aston Martin.

In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Daniel Craig acknowledged he wanted to depart the Bond franchise for two key reasons. “One, for the franchise, was that resets start again, which [the franchise] did with me. And I was like, ‘Well, you need to reset again.’ So let’s kill my character off and go find another Bond and go find another story. Start at [age] 23, start at 25, start at 30.”

The other had more to do with Daniel Craig’s own career. “The other was so that I could move on. I don’t want to go back…I suppose I should be so lucky if they were to ask me back, but the fact is I need to move on from it.” Craig also said the way 007 goes out in No Time to Die was fitting. “The sacrifice that he makes in the movie was for love and there’s no greater sacrifice. So it seemed like a good thing to end on.”

With Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond over, that frees up the actor’s time considerably. As of late, Craig has been playing detective Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out movies, which could very well turn into another full-blown franchise for Craig to be tied to. As director Rian Johnson put it, “I’ll keep doing it as long as Daniel and I are having a good time.” The second installment, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, hits theaters on November 23rd and Netflix on December 23rd.

Daniel Craig played James Bond five times, behind only Sean Connery and Roger Moore. The hunt for the next 007 is still afoot.

How do you feel about Daniel Craig’s statements regarding his run as James Bond? Could Knives Out work as a franchise? Let us know your thoughts!