Daniel Craig pre-empted that his tenure as James Bond would end with his character's demise years before the script for his final outing was even written.
Craig made his debut as 007 way back in 2006, a decade and a half before his final stint in No Time to Die hit cinemas.
No Time to Die's theatrical release was postponed numerous times throughout the coronavirus pandemic, meaning Craig had to wait even longer than expected to see his character go out in a blaze of glory.
And it turns out Bond's demise in the thriller was 15 years in the making, with Craig suggesting the spy should die soon after he first popped up in Casino Royale.
"I had genuinely thought I would do one Bond movie, then it would be over," Craig previously told The Times.
What followed were numerous discussions with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli about what direction the franchise would then go in - especially given the roaring success Craig's debut film turned out to be.
Daniel Craig has played Bond since 2006 UNIVERSAL PICTURES He explained further during the 2022 interview: "But by then we knew we had a hit on our hands.
"I realised the enormity of it, so I said to Barbara, 'How many more? Three? Four?' She said, 'Four!'
"I said, 'Okay. Then can I kill him off?' She said, 'Yes,'" Craig admitted before he explained the rationale behind his thinking.
He delved: "If we kill Bond, we can begin again. I think Barbara thought that too."
However, while Craig may have laid the blueprint for Bond's death in his mind years before it came to fruition, it was an idea which didn't sit well with everyone involved.
He admitted: "Bless them, the studio, MGM, were, like, 'What are you talking about? Are you out of your minds?'
"There was reluctance. So we had to do it in secret, really," Craig said.
While Craig came up with the idea of killing Bond off, the circumstances that led up to his demise are credited to the film's writers and notably Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
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PAAfter going toe to toe with Rami Malek's Safin throughout the final film, the fan-favourite spy took on a handful of bullet wounds.
To make survival an even further distant possibility, Safin had managed to poison Bond with specific nanobots which would mean anyone who he'd come into contact with would soon perish.
Eventually, Craig's character conceded and accepted his fate with missiles inbound to destroy Safin's lair.
After a final farewell to his love Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux, Bond allowed himself to be caught in the explosions which soon ensued from the missiles impact.
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