Next James Bond: Daniel Craig's replacement has already bagged unusual record for role
Daniel Craig has played Bond since 2006
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Daniel Craig's swan song as James Bond hit cinema screens two years ago now, which was another two years after the actor first announced he'd be departing.
Bond fans have known since 2019 that 55-year-old Craig would be hanging up his tux for good and ever since, a number of big names have entered the running.
Bridgerton's Rege-Jean Page is just one star who's been tipped for the role, as has Kick-Ass leading man Aaron Taylor Johnson.
Then there's the likes of Happy Valley's James Norton and Snowfall star Damson Idris who bookies feel stand a good chance to bag the part.
But the race for the coveted role is by no means limited to these four, with the likes of Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy, Harris Dickinson, and a long list of other actors landing themselves in the frame.
While a wide range of factors have contributed to the tiresome and lengthy delay in announcing the next Bond, it's also led to a rather unusual first in the world of Bond.
Daniel Craig announced his exit in 2019
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The delay in announcing Craig's successor means that whoever is unveiled will hold the record for the longest time between the previous star leaving and the next one officially being given the accolade.
The length of time dwarfs the duration between Craig bagging the role and his predecessor Pierce Brosnan exiting.
The Die Another Day actor announced he was leaving the role of Bond in February 2005 and it took just eight months for Casino Royale's Craig to be unveiled.
And the wait was even shorter when Brosnan took over from Timothy Dalton in June 1994 with it being two months on from the latter's departure announcement.
A number of factors at play as to why the wait for the next Bond has taken so long.
After all, the release of No Time to Die was impacted hugely by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw its theatrical release pushed back time and time again.
This would've inevitably meant the search for the next Bond was shelved while bosses scrambled to get the film in cinemas successfully.
There's also the not-so-small issue of the commitment whoever takes on the role will have to undertake.
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Producer Barbara Broccoli has admitted that the next person in the role will be in it for the long haul with a "10-12 year commitment".
She also told The Hollywood Reporter that Bond should "remain a man" although is open to the idea of changing his ethnicity.
Also, following in Craig's footsteps is no small feat given how popular he has become among 007 fans.
His reiteration of the spy is often lauded as one of the best there has been.
Craig made his Bond debut in Casino Royale in 2006 before starring in 2008's Quantum of Solace, 2012's Skyfall, 2015's Spectre and 2021's No Time to Die.
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