By Ryan Louis Mantilla 

James Bond has flourished throughout the years, and the 2021 James Bond film, No Time to Die, implies that the enduring fictional character wouldn't be dying yet either. However, Daniel Craig, the sixth actor to take on the role, wanted his Bond character to die. 

Contrary to the film's title, James Bond passed away near the end, becoming the first Bond to pass away out of the 25 films. Via Los Angeles Times,  the English actor discussed his two Knives Out movies and his enduring 007 roles, which he portrayed in five films between 2006 and 2021.

The death of James Bond at the end of the Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed film shocked audiences, but the actor wouldn't have it any other way.

"Two things, one for myself and one for the franchise,” said Craig, citing franchise "reset" as one major reason. "And I was like, ‘Well, you need to reset again.’ So let’s kill my character off and go find another Bond and go find another story. Start at [age] 23, start at 25, start at 30," said Craig.

The second reason he mentioned was he wanted to stop portraying the part. "The other was so that I could move on. I don’t want to go back,” he continued. “I suppose I should be so lucky if they were to ask me back, but the fact is I need to move on from it. The sacrifice that he makes in the movie was for love and there’s no greater sacrifice. So it seemed like a good thing to end on.”

Bond sacrificed himself to save two people: his love interest, Dr. Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux, and the daughter he only recently discovered he had with Swann. 

While Craig has officially left the franchise, Craig will reprise his Benoit Blanc role in the upcoming Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which will be released on Netflix on November 23.