With No Time to Die confirmed to be Daniel Craig's final outing as super-spy James Bond, his costar Lashana Lynch has explained she can't be pressed for an answer as to who will succeed him in the role. This 25th film in the James Bond franchise has been in the headlines throughout the year, due to being one of the first blockbusters delayed because of the COVID pandemic. No Time to Die was originally to be released on April 2 of this year, before being moved to November 12, and again five months down the line to April 2, 2021.
No Time to Die will be Craig's fifth and final 007 adventure, making him the longest serving actor in the role at 15 years. When Lynch's character in No Time to Die was confirmed to be 00 agent Nomi, speculation began about whether she would follow Craig and become the new Bond character. While Nomi will be assigned the 007 title in the film, it will only be because Bond himself will be out of active service at the beginning of the story, following on from the 24th Bond film Spectre. Despite knowing how Craig's last Bond adventure will end, Lynch has said she has no further information as to who will embody the role of James Bond after No Time to Die.
After a lie detector test with Britain's GQ indicated the actor did in fact know the identity of the future Bond star, Lynch said, "I don’t [know] – and that fricking lie detector test apparently said I do. I was like, ‘No’ and they were like, ‘That’s a lie.’ Come on, man. I actually don’t!” She also noted her relationship with long time Bond film producer Barbara Broccoli wouldn't help, saying, "I love Barbara, but I don’t think she’d even tell me, right?”
Ever since Bond's first official cinematic outing in 1962's Dr. No, speculation over who will play the secret agent has been never ending, with guesses rarely being correct. When Craig was announced as 007, many were taken by surprise, with obvious choices such as Clive Owen having fallen through. A decade later, after Spectre's grueling production schedule, Craig famously said, "I'd rather slash my wrists than play James Bond again." Since then, fans have not stopped speculating about his successor, even after he later confirmed his return for No Time to Die. One popular choice is X-Files' Gillian Anderson, in what would be an interesting gender bend for the franchise. However, with a key actor like Lynch out of the loop and the 25th entry of the franchise not even released yet, an answer to the burning question could still be far away.
It has been a long wait for No Time to Die and will probably feel even longer over the next five months. Lynch's comment should be a reminder to fans not to get ahead of themselves. Even after the new film is released, the announcement of the next Bond may not come for awhile, considering the wait between 007 movies over the past several years. The identity of the new Bond will likely be one no one was expecting.
Source: GQ UK
