Daniel Craig Explains Why He Came Back as Bond in ‘No Time to Die’

2020 will see Daniel Craig’s return as James Bond for the final time come April’s No Time to Die. Despite the actor’s previous statements that he would rather “slash his wrists” than play the character again, Craig shed light on his decision to reprise the role in an interview with Empire.

Explaining his vision of the character, Craig noted his need for closure with Bond’s story, stating, “it felt like we needed to finish something off. If I’d left it at Spectre, something at the back of my head would have been going, ‘I wish I’d done one more,'” and elaborated that he “always had a kind of secret idea about the whole lot in my head, and where I wanted to take it. And Spectre wasn’t that. But this feels like it is.”

Craig first appeared as Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale, followed by Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). Nearly fourteen years later, audiences will see him in Bond’s final arc against a new villain played by Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek. From the interview, Craig seems much more enthusiastic about his final turn as Bond in the upcoming film penned by Emmy Award winning writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge. With Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, and Jefferey Wright in supporting roles and direction from Cary Joji Fukunaga, James Bond: No Time to Die hits theaters April 8, 2020.