MGM President of Motion Pictures Pamela Abdy reveals the next James Bond search is in early discussion stages at the studio behind the franchise. The James Bond film franchise has been alive and well for nearly 50 years since Sean Connery first brought Ian Fleming's MI6 spy to life on the screen with Dr. No. Connery has since been succeeded in the role by five actors, beginning with a brief turn by George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service followed by Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

The most recent star to tackle the role of Bond came in the form of Daniel Craig, beginning with the franchise's soft reboot Casino Royale in 2006. Initially a controversial casting choice for his difference in physical appearance from past portrayals, Craig would receive rave reviews across his five films for his performance and widely regarded as one of the best actors to don the mantle. Craig's time as Bond came to a close earlier this year with No Time to Die and audiences are already debating who could be the next lead for the franchise.

Related: What James Bond 26 Needs To Keep From Daniel Craig’s 007 Era

As part of a recent career-spanning interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MGM exec Pamela Abdy offered an update on the future of the James Bond franchise. Abdy noted that the casting for the role is still wide open, but that discussions at the studio for the next Bond have indeed begun at the studio. See what Abdy said below:

"It’s wide open. We’ve had very early preliminary conversations with Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [Wilson], but we wanted Daniel to have his last hurrah."

James Bond gets out of a car in No Time to Die.

Abdy's reveal that early discussions for the next James Bond star may come as a bit of a surprise to some audiences, given No Time to Die has only been in theaters for a month and has only just come to digital platforms. However, the talks do fall in line with franchise producer Barbara Broccoli's previous discussions of the studio's ideal timeline for when the search would begin for the next Bond, stating earlier this year that a replacement for Craig wouldn't begin until 2022. Though talks seemingly indicated that the casting search wouldn't start until a year after the film's theatrical release, the studio's need to find a new narrative angle for the character after the conclusion of No Time to Die will likely take a good while to determine before even landing on the casting.

Even prior to No Time to Die's release, fans have been discussing who would be best suited to take over the role of James Bond from Daniel Craig. Stars from all over the world have thrown their hat into the ring for the martini-loving super spy, from previous Casino Royale candidate Henry Cavill to Tom Holland, Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson. While audiences wait for the announcement of who could carry on the role, they can catch up on No Time to Die as it's now available on digital platforms and hits shelves on 4K Ultra-HD, Blu-ray and DVD on December 21.

More: No Time To Die Showed Rise of Skywalker How It's Done

Source: THR