James Bond star Ben Whishaw has made it clear that he won’t be returning to the franchise for the next phase in the 007 saga.
Ben played MI6 tech whiz Q during Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond, appearing in the films Skyfall, Spectre and No Time To Die.
However, while supporting actors like Dame Judi Dench and Desmond Llewelyn have acted in James Bond movies opposite different leads, Ben told The Times that he won’t be one of them.
Looking ahead to the future of the film series, he claimed: “The world has changed so much since the last Bond film so you have to find what is relevant about it. I think it needs to be reinvented completely. But it’s not for me to say.”
Ben’s comments come as the casting process for the next James Bond is nearing its end, with Jack Lowden, Jack Barton and Callum Turner among those still thought to be in the running.
The three-time Bafta winner also commented on the cloak-and-dagger feeling that comes with being part of the 007 universe.
“People go crazy about it,” he said.“It’s all deliberate hype.
“When you are working on it it’s incredibly secretive, almost like being a spy – you only get the pages of the script that you are in. It’s a ploy to create suspense and glamour, but it’s kind of fun.”
In 2024, Ben told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I don’t think I’m going to be in the next [James Bond film]. I think they’re going to start all over again, and with a new cast, a completely new cast.
“I think. That’s my hunch. But I don’t know, I have no idea.”
Ben is currently gearing up to reunite with Keira Knightley in the next season of the Netflix spy drama Black Doves, almost two years after the last run of episodes.
Netflix’s official season two teaser reads: “Helen is still betraying her nation’s secrets to the covert organisation she serves: the Black Doves. But after the misadventures of last Christmas, and with her husband Wallace preparing to become Prime Minister, she is walking a more treacherous line than ever.
“As Helen’s enigmatic handler Mrs Reed is ensnared in a ruthless plot to undermine her position in the Black Doves, Helen is reunited with her best friend Sam. The once high-end triggerman is now reduced to lonely drinks in Soho bars and low-rate hits. As they search for answers, loyalties are weaponised, trust is shattered and the fight to protect the people they love could cost everything.”
Black Doves returns on Thursday 5 November.
