Daniel Craig Is Still James Bond, Producers Of 25th Bond Movie Say

It’s official! Daniel Craig is returning onto the big screen as James Bond for the fifth time.

On Friday, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the producers of the still untitled 25th installment in the 007 franchise, confirmed Craig’s return as the iconic intelligence officer in a statement issued to the press.

“We are delighted to announce that the exceptionally talented Danny Boyle will be directing Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as James Bond in the 25th installment of the franchise,” the producers said in the statement obtained by Us Weekly.

Wilson and Broccoli also disclosed when production on the new Bond movie will commence. “We will begin shooting Bond 25 at Pinewood Studios [in London] in December with our partners at MGM and thrilled that Universal Pictures will be our international distributor.”

In a span of 13 years, Craig starred as the MI6 agent in four films: “Casino Royale” in 2006, “Quantum of Solace” in 2008, “Skyfall” in 2012 and “Spectre” in 2015. He is now set to work on the new movie with the working title “Bond 25” starting on Dec. 3, 2018.

Craig’s co-stars haven’t been revealed yet. But there are rumors claiming that Ben Whishaw, Naimie Harris and Rory Kinnear are coming back to reprise their characters gadgets expert Q, Moneypenny and Tanner, respectively, according to The Guardian.

Prior to Craig, Bond was portrayed by A-list actors Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, David Niven and Sean Connery, who was not only the first to give life to the secret agent, but was also one of the actors to star the most in Bond films alongside Moore. Both Connery and Moore have seven Bond movies under their belts.

Craig previously expressed his lack of desire to make another Bond flick. When he was asked three years ago about the possibility of reprising the role for the fifth time, he told Time Out magazine: “I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”

“Bond 25” is scheduled for release on Nov. 8, 2019 in the U.S. It will premiere two weeks earlier in the U.K.