Pierce Brosnan has said that he would be “interested” in returning as James Bond should he receive an offer.
Shockwaves were sent through Hollywood in February when it was announced that Amazon had forged a new joint venture with producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, to hand over the James Bond intellectual property rights. While the two will remain co-owners of the franchise, the transaction leaves creative control of all future productions in the hands of Amazon.
The series has gone quiet since the release of 2021’s No Time To Die, which marked Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007. Since then, several actors have been rumoured to replace him in the iconic role, including Bridget Jones 4 star Leo Woodall, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and rumoured favourite, Aaron-Taylor Johnson.
Brosnan, 71, has now seemingly thrown his hat into the ring after being asked whether he would want to reprise the role. The Irish actor played Bond in four films between 1995 and 2002 – GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
Speaking to GQ, Brosnan was asked about a hypothetical return to Bond, saying: “How could I not be interested?”
However, Brosnan’s enthusiasm for a Bond return didn’t last, adding that it would be a “rather romantic notion and idea”. He added that it would be “best left to another man, really”.
Following Amazon’s acquisition of Bond, Daniel Craig expressed his “admiration” for Broccoli and Wilson.
In a statement given to the Hollywood Reporter, the Knives Out actor said: “My respect, admiration and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished. I wish Michael a long, relaxing (and well-deserved) retirement and whatever ventures Barbara goes on to do, I know they will be spectacular and I hope I can be part of them.”
There has been some backlash to Amazon, and specifically Jeff Bezos, now owning Bond.
American filmmaker Osgood Perkins, who directed the 2024 sleeper horror hit Longlegs and new film The Monkey, was recently asked during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” whether he’d ever consider directing a film in the long-running British spy franchise.
He made his feelings known about the Amazon development with his blunt reply: “No, because f*** Jeff Bezos.”
Elsewhere, Valerie Leon, who was a “Bond girl” in The Spy Who Loved Me and Never Say Never Again, is concerned that the films will no longer be British.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The Bond franchise was very British and it won’t be anymore.
“And obviously if they make films they won’t go into the cinema… everything is so changed now, it just won’t be the same and I’m very old-fashioned anyway.”
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