Daniel Craig has confirmed he will return for one more James Bond film in an interview with American talk show host Stephen Colbert.
Asked directly if he had agreed to appear again as the super-spy he admitted that he would speak the truth and said yes to a round of applause from the audience.
Craig, now 49, will therefore be starring in the 25th official Bond film – his fifth after Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre.
He will also become the second longest serving Bond after Roger Moore, who starred in seven Bond films, by the time Bond 25 comes out – it has a stated US release date of November 8, 2019 and is traditionally out in the UK the week before.
Craig had already been coy about his Bond future recently, saying that he had known for “a couple of months” despite dodging the question in recent weeks.
There will now be huge interest to see who directs the film with the likes of Yann Demange (’71), Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049), and David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) reportedly in the running after Skyfall and Spectre’s director Sam Mendes ruled himself out.
There’s also been a long-running rumour about Christopher Nolan’s interest in the series, especially after he filmed a Bond-esque sequence in Inception and following his latest hugely successful film Dunkirk.
A sixth film could also be on the cards but Craig, who told Time Out magazine that he would rather “slash his wrists” than do another Bond film, spoke of his franchise fatigue around the time of the release of Spectre in 2015.
“It was two days after I finished shooting the last movie. I went straight into an interview and gave a stupid answer instead of saying something with style and grace.” admitted Craig .
Craig will be 51 by the time Bond 25 comes out in late 2019 and after being one of the youngest actors to portray Bond and has always been mindful of not wanting to be one of the oldest to portray him.
“I think this is it. I just want to go out on a high note and I can’t wait.” he said.
Craig shows up next weekend in a new film which is a departure from his recent roles – a return to his character acting days with a striking supporting role as explosives expert “Joe Bang” in Steven Soderbergh’s comeback film Logan Lucky.