Daniel Craig On Why He’s Definitely Done Playing James Bond After ‘No Time To Die’

“In terms of closing the story, the circle is complete now. It feels emotionally satisfying.”

Long-suffering James Bond star Daniel Craig has explained why he’s completely done with playing the iconic movie super spy after No Time to Die.

Craig, 53, had repeatedly expressed his desire to leave the franchise even before his final 007 movie, No Time To Die, was plagued by pandemic-related delays. (It’s now finally scheduled to hit theaters on October 8.)

In a new interview with Total Film, Craig said he didn’t believe he was physically capable of making another Bond flick after 2015’s Spectre and that after the franchise’s 25th movie, he’s absolutely ready to move on. 

“I thought I probably was physically not capable of doing another,” Craig said after tearing his meniscus during a grueling six-month shoot. “For me, it was very cut and dried that I wasn’t coming back.”

But Craig said he agreed to do one final film because he wanted to wrap up the story arc he began with 2006’s Casino Royale—along with picking up a rumored $25 million paycheck, of course. 

“We started talking about it and I went, ‘There might be a story we need to finish here – something we started in Casino [Royale]. Something to do with Vesper, and Spectre, and something that was connected, in a way,'” Craig told Total Film. “It started to formulate. And I thought, ‘Here we go.’” 

Craig added that No Time to Die will be the ultimate conclusion to his time in the 007 trenches. “In terms of closing the story, the circle is complete now. It feels emotionally satisfying.”

In related Bond news, check out the British spy’s latest on-screen ride, the newly-revealed Aston-Martin Valhalla.