‘Reinvention of Bond’: What to expect for the future of the James Bond film franchise

British star Daniel Craig appears to confirm that a string of movies will restart the spy’s story with a new actor in the 007 role. Photo / Supplied

James Bond will “reset” for future films which will start the spy’s story again from the beginning, Daniel Craig has said.

The British star brought his time as 007 to an end in 2021 after almost 20 years of playing the part, and appeared to kill off the character at the close of his final film, No Time To Die.

However, Craig has said that Bond will simply “reset” with a new actor in the role, and a new string of films that will go back to the beginning of the spy’s story.

This is the approach EON producers took to the franchise with the 2006 release of Casino Royale, which introduced a relatively inexperienced 007 who matured throughout the five films released during Craig’s tenure.

The actor has explained that this has always been his vision for the franchise, and one he shared with Barbara Broccoli, the boss of EON Productions.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been named by bookies as a favourite for the Bond role. Photo / Getty Images

He told the BBC’s Today programme: “He’s not dead is he. It says right at the end ‘Bond Will return’.

“I said to Barbara a long time ago back in 2006, ‘if I do all of these movies and we get it right can I kill him off?’ And she said, ‘yes you can’.

“I was thinking about myself and my post-Bond career. I was trying to think of how that would work.

“But I was also thinking about what they did with Casino Royale. They had a chance to go back to the beginning, and I thought you’d have a chance to reset again. It seemed to me like a good move.”

Craig appears to have confirmed speculation from industry insiders that the Bond franchise would take a “Dr Who” approach to its main character, who will effectively “regenerate” with another leading man in the role, with the spy’s story told again from the start with new variations.

Broccoli has said this process will be a chance for the character of 007 himself to be reworked, explaining in June that the next block of films will entail a “reinvention of Bond”, adding: “We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time.”