Daniel Craig Reportedly Done With Bond: Who Should Replace Him?

Fans of Daniel Craig as Agent 007 will no doubt be heartbroken to learn that the beautiful blonde actor has declared he is done with the James Bond character. According to Reuters (via Business Insider), Craig told an interviewer for Time Out magazine he’d rather bleed to death than step into the role one more time.

“I’d rather break this glass and slit my wrists.”

It sounds like Daniel is no longer in love with playing the world’s most famous secret agent. He was a noted departure from past portrayals of James Bond. While other actors played 007 as suave to the point of being a male Mary Sue, the Daniel Craig version will be remembered for giving the character a more modern grit. It’s also fair to say he was one of the better-built actors in the role.

Now that it appears Spectre will indeed be the final James Bond film featuring Daniel Craig in the role, movie fans have already started to ask which actors are best suited to possibly replace Craig. Here are a few suggestions for you to mull over.

I’m just going to put it out there: The only thing standing between Idris Elba and serious consideration for the role of James Bond is the fact that he’s black. That may cause some people to clutch their pearls and violently declare that race has nothing to do with why a non-white British actor has never played the role. I would like to humbly point out that when Daniel Craig was first announced for the role, people lost it because he was James Bond has always been represented as a dark-haired man. The idea that such narrow-minded thinking is often applied to the character hardly makes it shocking that Idris would be deemed a highly inappropriate choice.

What’s especially interesting about resistance to casting a black actor like Elba as Agent 007 is that it acts as if racial and gender blind casting hasn’t already occurred. Respected actress Judi Dench portrayed the traditionally male “M” for nearly two decades, and she did a brilliant job. The character Miss Moneypenny, who has an on-and-off flirtation with Bond, is now being played by actress Naomie Harris.

It may be hard for older fans of James Bond to wrap their minds around, but a black James Bond can still be an interesting character worth seeing on-screen.

With Daniel Craig opening the door to a less than conventional spin on 007, Tom Hardy is now the type of actor that could have a serious shot at the role. We know from images of his upcoming film Legend that he looks exquisite in a suit. His supporting role in the Christopher Nolan film Inception showed that he could portray a sleek, calm personality. Of course, certain other roles made famous by Hardy showed that he’s believable as an action star. Hardy is a good enough actor to follow Craig, and it would be in keeping of having a more modern take on Bond.

The only caveat would be the fact that, for whatever reason, Tom Hardy doesn’t always enunciate so well in certain roles. Perhaps it has to do with the roles — perhaps it has to do with the character. For instance, the comprehension issues with Bane weren’t on Hardy, as he had to re-shoot audio thanks to the mask making his words indistinguishable. Just the same, anyone who saw Mad Max: Fury Road might have been a little annoyed that the actor didn’t have too much to say a lot of the time. Daniel Craig, for all his physicality, was often expected to drop Bond-style quips — And he did so quite believably. It’s uncertain whether or not Tom could come across quite as convincingly.

Regardless of auditory issues, I’ll say I believe having him in the role will certainly garner hype for the post-Daniel Craig era.

Henry Cavill looks like an obvious choice, so you’re probably wondering what took me so long to get to him. Yes, Cavill is a tall, handsome, dark-haired Brit who looks pretty damn good in a suit. Yes, I could close my eyes and see him as Agent 007. However, at this time it probably wouldn’t work out. Henry is tied up as Superman for who knows how long. The good news is that anyone who wants to see whether Cavill has what it takes to replace Craig can see for themselves in the modern reboot of the ’60s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Could that movie have been something of an audition for the role? There are apparently no sequels in the works. Odds are, Henry may not directly replace Daniel, but who’s to say his look in this movie couldn’t make the case for him replacing the actor eventually given the role.

Yes, I’m going to make the case for a woman Bond. I’m going to do so because I honestly feel that Agent 007: James Bond is a code name and not a gender. We saw that with the role of “M” being played by a man, and then a woman, and then a man again — all within the same movie universe. So then, technically anyone should be James (or Jane) if they have the right qualifications. Or, at least, the right presence to play the part.

When it comes to picking a first ever female Agent 007, my first choice was actress Rachel Weisz. I feel she’d offer a brilliant take on the role. However, I’m not sure how Daniel Craig would feel about being followed in a part he hates by his own wife. If the part were made available and she went for it, perhaps the outcome would be adorable teasing as to which was the better Bond.

Rachel aside, I think Natalie Dormer would be an excellent choice. We already know that Natalie can rock a blonde or brunette look, so at least that that debate would be off the table. An even more daring suggestion? How about a surprising twist that causes Moneypenny (Harris) to take the leading role in the series?

Another reason to gender swap the character? We can finally start getting “Bond Boys.” Should the opportunity arise, that’s another list of suggestions I’d love to make.

Daniel Craig's advice to the next Bond: "Don't be s***." http://t.co/ql73cw9o04 pic.twitter.com/jWOKUd1i4F

— MovieRoomReview (@movieroomreview) October 8, 2015

What are your thoughts on these potential Daniel Craig replacements? Got any actors or actresses in mind that I didn’t mention? Share your suggestions below!

[Images Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for CTMG, Inc. and MGM Studios; Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Mike Coppola/NBC/Getty Images for ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Jaguar Land Rover]