Everyone's been tripping over themselves this week to tell you that Daniel Craig has been confirmed to do two more Bond films (as reported by Bond fan site MI6) theoretically wrapping up a decade-long run as 007 in 2016 if Eon gets back on its schedule of a new Bond film every two years.
Five films is a good number; Sean Connery walked for the first time after his fifth entry (You Only Live Twice) before coming back to do Diamonds Are Forever for a pile of money (which he promptly donated to a boy's school in Scotland). Had Roger Moore packed it in after For Your Eyes Only, his legacy would today be free of such nightmarish imagery as James Bond dressed as a clown, or banging Grace Jones.
The problem with this "news" is it comes less than a month after producer Michael G. Wilson told reporters that Craig's run as Bond will end whenever they decide to shake it up, reminding us that Die Another Day was Pierce Brosnan's highest grossing entry, and yet they still cancelled his contract early before rebooting the franchise with Casino Royale in 2006. One gets the sense that on any given day, Wilson will say whatever keeps us talking about Bond; nine months ago he wanted Craig to play Bond in eight films. So whether they're making actual announcements, surreptitiously negotiating Craig's contract via press releases, or just buzz-baiting, telling us Craig is signed for two more films really doesn't mean anything right this second.
In other, less vaporous news, the Skyfall production has released its latest videoblog, this time concerning the film's pre-title sequence in Turkey. The scene has provided most of the money shots we've glimpsed in the trailers so far, and promises to continue the Daniel Craig tradition of Bond visiting a foreign land and causing massive property damage and civilian casualties in the first ten minutes of the film.
About the Author: Phil writes and produces non-fiction television projects for various clients. In his spare time, he watches and talks about movies. Sometimes he does that here.
