Daniel Craig Kills Hugh Jackman Playing Bond Rumor In Hilarious Clip

Will Hugh Jackman be the next James Bond? Current 007 actor Daniel Craig certainly seems to shoot down that rumor in a new interview clip. While speaking to UK's Lorraine, Craig was asked (yet again) about the big question of who will play Bond after him. When it was brought up that Hugh Jackman had mentioned to Craig to just enjoy his final film as 007 (November's No Time To Die), Daniel declared that Jackman is "not going to be it. Over my dead body." Well, as you can see below, Hugh Jackman has seen Daniel Craig's declaration, and has his own response to give: 

"Well … that kills that rumor! Daniel, mate, you'll always be @007 to me. #NoTimeToDie . I'm IN. @reallorraine" -Hugh Jackman

The issue of who will be the next James Bond has been looming for years now - even before we knew for sure that Daniel Craig would return for the 25th Bond film. Names that we've heard circulated include Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy, Luke Evans, or more diverse possibilities like Idris Elba and Bridgerton's Rege-Jean Page. When it comes to the discussion of whether or not James Bond could be rebooted as a female character things get even more divisive. Of course, this James Bond "controversy" is nothing new under the sun. When Daniel Craig first took on the role back in 2005, the "controversy" was that he had blond hair and blue eyes - something unheard of for Bond, at the time. Now we're discussing Bond of a different race, gender, and/or sexual preference - so we've definitely come a long way during Craig's tenure. 

No Time To Die is a pivotal chapter of the Bond franchise, beyond the obvious massive hurdle of re-casting the titular character. No Time To Die will be a further test of whether the international theatrical box office can bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if the film does well in theaters, the recent purchase of MGM Studios by Amazon has made the future of the Bond franchise uncertain. Amazon may choose to expand the IP into a larger franchise of spinoffs or other formats (animation, TV series, etc.). 

In other words, the next James Bond could be stepping into a very different kind of franchise. And, after carrying the load of the X-Men movie franchise for so many years, Hugh Jackman would probably do well to let a different star step into Bond.

James Bond's No Time To Die will be in theaters on October 8th.