He's attempting re-entry! After months of speculation, prevarication, and misinformation, we finally have an official, unequivocal, definitive answer: Daniel Craig will definitely return as James Bond, for a fifth film.
Craig – currently doing the press rounds for Logan Lucky, in which he plays a bleached-haired redneck convict – had by his own admission been "quite cagey" about his future as 007. But in an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Craig settled the feverish tabloid debate once and for all.
He told Colbert that he had known the news for a couple of months, but held out with an official announcement for some time. He hinted, however, that the next Bond movie – his fifth in the role, and the 25th in the series overall – would likely be his last. “I think this is it," he told Colbert. "I just want to go out on a high note and I can’t wait.”
Eon, the production company which own the screen rights to Ian Fleming's famous MI6 spy, announced last month that the next James Bond film would arrive in 2019, but that press release made no mention of who would be stepping into the tuxedo.
There's still no word on who will direct the new movie. Sam Mendes, who directed the last two films in the series, won't be back, and there is reportedly a director shortlist that includes Yann Demange, David Mackenzie, and Denis Villeneuve.
Filming is likely to begin at some point in 2018, aiming towards the announced US release date of 8 November 2019, arriving a couple of weeks earlier than that in the UK. Oh, James...