A clip showing an emotional Daniel Craig giving a farewell speech on the set of No Time to Die has gone viral on social media.
“A lot of people here worked on five pictures with me, and I know there’s a lot of things said about what I think about these films or all of those, whatever,” Craig says in the short clip shared by Twitter account @itsfilmthusiast, which has now been viewed more than 3.2 million times.
“But I’ve loved every single second of these movies, and especially this one because I’ve gotten up every morning and I’ve had the chance to work with you guys. And that has been one of the greatest honours of my life.”
Dressed in his signature Bond tuxedo, a clearly emotional Craig is then seen folding his hands in gratitude as he's cheered on by the cast and crew of No Time to Die, his last outing as the world-famous spy.
According to Deadline, the clip was reportedly shot in 2019.
The English actor, 53, has starred in four Bond films – starting with 2006's Casino Royale – all of which became massive box office hits. The Sam Mendes-directed Skyfall in 2012 became the highest-grossing Bond film ever, earning more than $1 billion globally.
Craig's farewell speech on the set of No Time to Die, his fifth time playing 007, seems to reference his controversial 2015 interview with Time Out London when, while promoting Spectre, he was asked if he'd do another Bond film.
"I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on," Craig said, leading to a flurry of headlines and speculations in its wake.
But in 2017, during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his film, Logan Lucky, Craig confirmed he was in fact returning as Bond.
Asked by host Colbert whether he would return as James Bond, Craig responded "Yes", to loud cheers from the audience.
Initially scheduled for a 2019 release, No Time to Die has been beset by production delays, with the coronavirus pandemic further hampering its planned release dates.
Previously, fans were told the film would be released in November 2020, then April 2021 and then November – before the release date was finally moved to October 2021.
The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, features a stellar cast including Oscar-winner Rami Malek as villain Lyutsifer Safin.
Ana de Armas joins the cast as Paloma while Lashana Lynch has been cast as Nomi, a secret-service agent who has taken up the 007 title.
Lea Seydoux returns as Dr Madeleine Swann, as does Ralph Fiennes as M and Ben Whishaw as Q. Christoph Waltz, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright and Rory Kinnear also star.
No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond film in the franchise, is set for release on Thursday, October 7, in the UAE.
Watch the trailer below:
