James Bond Producer: Search For Daniel Craig’s Replacement Won’t Begin Until 2022

The search for a new James Bond won't begin until 2022.

The iconic spy movie franchise's producer, Barbara Broccoli, has insisted they will be holding off finding a new 007 to replace Daniel Craig, who will take his Aston Martin for a fifth and final in No Time To Die, until at least next year.

Broccoli told Radio 4's Today show: “We’re not thinking about it at all.

“We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”

Eon Production head and Broccoli's half-sibling Michael G Wilson added: “He’s been such a great Bond. Those are big shoes to fill. I can’t even [think if it’s] possible.”

Last week, Broccoli revealed Daniel only agreed to play Bond if he could be involved in "every part of the process".

The 53-year-old actor took some "persuading" to take on the iconic role because he knew it would change his life forever.

And Barbara — who has worked on the Bond franchise since she was 17 — has revealed the Elizabeth star has been a "tremendous help" in "all aspects" of the 007 films, from shooting a lot of the stunts himself to helping with the scripts.

Speaking on the No Time To Die: The Official James Bond Podcast, Broccoli, the daughter of late Bond producer Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli, said of casting Craig: "The big problem was that he didn't want to do it, because I think he thought it was going to change his life dramatically and he was doing extremely well as an actor and liked the challenges of that.

"It took some persuading but eventually he sat with Michael and I, and he said, 'Well, If I am going to take this on, I want to be an integral part of the process. I want to be involved in the scripts, I want to be involved in every element of the filmmaking.'

"And we said, 'Okay, let's do it.' And he has been a tremendous help in all the aspects, he's super intelligent, really brilliant about story and characters and drama and what works. He did a lot of physical training, so he does most of the action and he's involved in the kind of development of the action and everything.

"So he was just a perfect choice."

Broccoli admitted people were "eating their own words" when Craig became hugely successful in the role.

She said: "At the beginning, there was some resistance that Bond is not blonde and all this nonsense."

Per Variety, betting company William Hill's top favourites to take over Bond's licence to kill are currently Tom Hardy, Regé-Jean Page, James Norton, Luke Evans, Idris Elba, and Henry Cavill.

Meanwhile, fans can livestream the red carpet coverage from the world premiere of No Time to Die at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on Facebook tomorrow (Sept 29), 12.30am. The cast will be in attendance, alongside director Cary Joji Fukunaga and Bond theme song singer Billie Eilish. Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will also be attending alongside healthcare workers and members of the armed forces.

No Time to Die opens in Singapore cinemas on Sept 30.

Photo: UIP