Daniel bids farewell to James Bond franchise

Daniel Craig thought he had wrapped up his tenure as James Bond with 'Spectre', but the actor said his final fifth outing as the British secret agent in 'No Time to Die' allowed him to fully complete his 007 journeys.

Nearly 60 years after the first Bond film 'Dr No' premiered, the cinema's favourite spy, known for his love of fast cars and cool gadgets, returns in the highly anticipated 25th Bond movie next week after an 18-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Costing an estimated 200 million dollars to produce, 'No Time to Die' sees Bond come out of retirement from an idyllic life in Jamaica to help track down a new villain armed with lethal technology.

"I did not think that I was going to do another movie after 'Spectre'. I genuinely thought that I was going to just pack it in," Craig told 'Reuters'.

He added, "But I'm so happy that I got the chance to come and do this one and we tied up lots of loose ends. We have tried to tell one story with all my Bond movies. It is like they are all connected in some way and this one just sort of capped it off."

Running at nearly three hours long, the film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, promises the usual Bond action, car chases and stunts in picturesque locations, including the cave dwellings of the southern Italian city of Matera.

It introduces the new character Nomi, played by Black actress Lashana Lynch and described simply as a 00 agent at Bond's past employer, Britain's MI6 foreign spy service. She looks just as fierce and skilled as Bond.

"She is also a real human being. She is grounded and she is from a good background and takes every opportunity she gets and runs with it. She has shifted things up at MI6 and will continue to do so," Lynch said.

After being postponed three times since its original April 2020 slot, 'No Time to Die' holds its world premiere on September 28 in London.

"I enjoyed them all. They are always a bit of a struggle but anything worthwhile is always a bit of a struggle, so this was a joy to make," said Craig, who began his Bond journey in 2006's 'Casino Royal'.

He admitted, "I'm massively grateful to have been given the chance to do it and all of the memories and all the amazing times. Working with just fantastic, amazing people has changed my life."