ROLLING STONE

WATCH DANIEL CRAIG CONFIRM JAMES BOND RETURN ON 'COLBERT'

Actor admits he "always wanted" to portray 007 one more time but "needed a break"

By Daniel Kreps

Daniel Craig confirmed he would return to star in the 25th James Bond film while visiting Stephen Colbert and The Late Show Tuesday.

 Asked point-blank by the host whether Craig – who Colbert called the "greatest Bond" – would once again portray 007, the actor said yes, ending speculation about the Bond role and Craig's well-reported ambivalence about playing the super-spy for a fifth film. Craig added that this will likely be his last time playing Bond. "I think this is it. I just want to go out on a high note and I can’t wait," he said.

While Craig's involvement in the 2019-bound Bond 25 was all-but-confirmed by the New York Times when the film was announced in July, Craig continued to be "cagey" about whether or not he was returning to the role.

In a pair of radio interviews Tuesday while promoting Logan Lucky, Craig said, "No decision has been made at the moment" in regards to his Bond status. However, those pessimistic comments were a ruse in order to allow Craig to make the announcement on The Late Show.

"I have to apologize to all the people I've done interviews with today, because I wanted to tell you," Craig said.

As for Craig's infamous post-Spectre statement that he'd "rather break this glass and slash my wrists" than play Bond again, the actor admitted to Colbert that those comments were a mistake on his part.

"There's no point in making excuses about it but it was two days after I finished shooting the last movie, I went straight to an interview and someone said 'Would you do another one?' And I went 'No!' And instead of saying something with style and grace, I gave a really stupid answer," Craig said, adding that he "always wanted to" return to 007 but "I needed a break."

Bond 25 arrives November 8th, 2019. While the film's director and title are still unknown, the movie will be penned by the screenwriting duo of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, the writers behind the last six 007 films.

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/watch-daniel-craig-confirm-james-bond-return-on-colbert-w498025