Daniel Craig confirms speculation that he wants Bond 23 to have a fresh start, free from the story arc of "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace"...

A Fresh Start For Bond 23
7th December 2008

Daniel Craig has confirmed that the 23rd James Bond film will likely revert to the usual 007 formula of standalone adventures. As "Quantum of Solace" director Marc Forster left the original ending to the film on the cutting room floor (visit the movie coverage section for full details), the door has been left open for a fresh start on Bond 23 without any hang-over from the two-film story arc that began in "Casino Royale".

Above: Daniel Craig at the Tokyo press conference for "Quantum of Solace" on 25th November 2008.

In an interview with Collider.com, Craig was first asked about the idea of stretching the story in to a third film. “No fucking way. I’m done with that story," he said. "I want to lie on a beach for the first half an hour of the next movie drinking a cocktail." While obviously joking about how the first half hour of Bond 23 would play out, Craig did voice some opinion on how the next adventure should be treated, and the possible inclusion of franchise regulars Q and Moneypenny - missing in action since he took over the tuxedo from Pierce Brosnan. "We’ve finished this story as far as I’m concerned. We’ve got a great set of bad guys. There is an organization that we can use whenever we want to [Quantum]. The relationship between Bond and M is secure and Felix is secure. Let’s try and find where Moneypenny came from and where Q comes from. Let’s do all that and have some fun with it." No release date has been announced for Bond 23, with fans and experts unsure whether it will be 2010 or 2011.

When quizzed about the schedule, Craig said:"We don’t know when we’re going to do the next Bond. Nobody’s thinking about it at the moment. We’re giving it a rest for the moment. If I can squeeze something in next year I will…but I haven’t figured out what that’ll be yet. But nothing in the cold."

Producer Michael G. Wilson Wilson confirmed a few weeks ago that pre-production was due to start shortly. "Last time when we were in post production on Casino Royale we were already working on Quantum Of Solace", Wilson said. "This time we haven’t even started but in January we are going to get some writers together and start kicking some ideas around." Starting the screenplay in January could mean that Bond 23 hits the traditional November slot in 2010. The wrinkle to the usual two-year timeline could be the hand-over from Sony back to MGM, pushing the release to 2011.

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