There are few film franchises with the cultural impact of the James Bond movies. Generations of moviegoers have watched 007's adventures, which have all recently found the same streaming home for those with an Amazon Prime subscription. Today marks the anniversary of Daniel Craig's casting as the beloved MI6 agent, and fans have the same thought that I do.
Craig's Bond movies ended with No Time to Die, which was his fifth and final bow as the martini-sipping hero. He shot and promoted those movies over 16 years, and the franchise's Instagram just celebrated the anniversary of his casting announcement. You can see the post in question below:
Talk about a throwback. Daniel Craig got a ton of injuries while playing Bond, but this image from Casino Royale shows him looking fresh in his debut as 007. This was shared to the account's 3 million followers, many of whom had the same reaction.
No Time to Die's ending saw Craig's James die, which was a first for the long-running franchise. Ever since then fans have wondered which actor would be the next Bond, with folks even taking bets on who it might be. Clearly moviegoers are getting tired of waiting on updates, as the comments section for the above post is filled with a recurring sentiment. Check out some of them below:
- This would be a fantastic day to announce his successor.
- On this day in 2026, still no news on who the next Bond is.
- New Bond announcement??? 6 years we are waiting……
- And who will be the next?
- New Bond announcement when?
Clearly fans are ready for an update, specifically about who will be the latest actor to portray James Bond on the big screen. No Time to Die hit theaters back in 2021, so it's already been a number of years of waiting, wondering, and oodles of fan castings. Still, there's been no indication as to who Craig will be passing the baton to for Denis Villeneuve's developing 007 movie.
The James Bond franchise is in a transitional period right now, the mystery of casting is just one question that's surrounding the 26th installment in the property. Amazon-MGM has bought control over the IP, which is a major change in leadership. There are some naysayers concerned over this shift, although Dune director Denis Villeneuve getting behind the camera is an exciting prospect. After all, he's an acclaimed filmmaker who has proven his ability to adapt pre-existing franchises.
Alas, we'll have to keep waiting and wondering about Bond 26 for the foreseeable future. For now, fans can stream the entire franchise over on Amazon. The new movie obviously isn't on the 2026 movie release list, but fingers crossed we get some more information after Villeneuve's schedule is freed up after the release of Dune 3.
