The Netflix success of Daniel Craig’s James Bond motion pictures proves that the franchise should return as quickly as potential, which makes the lengthy await Bond 26 all of the extra unlucky. The hole between 2021’s No Time To Die and the upcoming Bond 26 is already the longest hole between two installments within the iconic British spy collection.
007 has by no means been off-screen for such a protracted stretch earlier than, and No Time To Die’s stunning twist ending set the bar for his return virtually impossibly excessive. After years of the franchise changing Bond’s actor between movies, however by no means acknowledging this, No Time To Die modified the sport utterly when its ending killed off Craig’s model of Bond.
This successfully ensures that Bond 26 might want to handle the query of whether or not James Bond is a codename handed down from one agent to a different when working for MI6. This, in flip, opens up the franchise to exploring an entire host of different fan theories, addressing whether or not these James Bonds can retire or if they’re at all times killed in motion.
Daniel Craig’s James Bond Films Are Huge Netflix Hits
It was at all times going to be exhausting for Bond 26 to reply these questions, however the franchise has not made issues any simpler for itself within the years since No Time To Die’s October 2021 premiere. Not solely has there been no important manufacturing progress on Bond 26, however the character himself nonetheless hasn’t even been recast.
As of January 2026, it’s nonetheless unclear who will play the legendary tremendous spy in Bond 26. Numerous A-list actors who have been as soon as front-runners, reminiscent of Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and Henry Cavill, have arguably already outgrown the function, and the seek for a brand new up-and-coming actor to tackle the half has lasted years.
Now, Craig’s two most up-to-date James Bond motion pictures, No Time To Die and 2015’s Spectre, have grow to be large hits on Netflix. The recognition of those motion pictures on the streaming service exhibits that viewers need to see extra from Bond, however the franchise appears unable to facilitate this.
In early 2025, Amazon introduced that long-term franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson could be stepping away from the collection as its new proprietor took the James Bond motion pictures in a brand new course. Since then, there was little information outdoors of the revelation in June 2025 that Dennis Villeneuve would helm the upcoming franchise installment.
Netflix’s James Bond Success Proves Viewers Need Extra From the Franchise
Villeneuve is among the many most enjoyable blockbuster administrators working at this time, and the information that he’s directing Bond 26 ought to be thrilling for followers of the collection. Nevertheless, the sheer size of time between installments has inevitably sapped a whole lot of enthusiasm from even probably the most devoted followers of the franchise.
The James Bond collection has been dormant since 2021, that means Bond 26 have to be one thing actually particular for the film to really feel like it’s value this unprecedented wait. Furthermore, the truth that there was no motion towards a manufacturing date appears much more worrying. Admittedly, blockbuster productions can come collectively shortly, however that is hardly the norm.
Jurassic World Rebirth was first introduced in January 2024, and the film arrived in cinemas in June 2025, however this was an atypically quick turnaround and one which the James Bond franchise would have a tough time replicating. In any case, No Time To Die’s many launch date delays meant the twenty fifth Bond film didn’t arrive till two years after manufacturing wrapped.
Bond 26’s Greatest Drawback Isn’t Recasting 007
Sadly for Amazon and Villeneuve, the largest concern with the James Bond franchise can’t be solved with a very impressed recasting of 007 himself. It’s the tone of the collection that can outline the success or failure of Bond 26, and the filmmakers are trapped in an unenviable catch-22 in the case of this concern.
The central query is whether or not Bond 26 ought to signify a return to the enjoyable, campy tone of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan’s spy motion pictures, or if the installment ought to be a darkish, gritty, grounded spy thriller. Sadly, there are main points with each approaches.
2024’s Argylle and 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E have been each high-profile spy motion pictures that aimed to take a lighter, goofier take a look at the
style, and each misplaced tens of millions on the field workplace and failed catastrophically upon launch. In distinction, gritty, grounded spy thrillers are likely to fare higher in monetary phrases.
Certainly, the choice to rent Villeneuve for Bond 26 alone is proof of the challenge’s self-serious tone, because the director’s austere output is hardly identified for its playful humor. Nevertheless, adopting a gritty, grounded tone signifies that Bond 26 now runs the danger of feeling and looking out precisely the identical as Craig’s James Bond motion pictures, making the franchise really feel redundant.
- Launch Date
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October 8, 2021
- Runtime
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163 Minutes
- Director
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Cary Joji Fukunaga
- Writers
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Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
- Producers
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Barbara Broccoli