James Bond legend Ben Whishaw responds to question of his franchise future - and hopes for next 007

There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about who might be next to take on the role of James Bond as the search appears to near it's end – with Jack Lowden currently installed as the favourite for the role.

But there are, of course, several other major roles that will need to be recast as well. One of those is the part of Q, which was most recently played by Paddington star Ben Whishaw during Daniel Craig's spell as 007.

While Whishaw had never previously definitively ruled our reprising his role in Bond's next chapter, his quotes in a recent interview with The Sunday Times appear to suggest it won't be happening.

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"The world has changed so much since the last Bond film so you have to find what is relevant about it," he explained when asked about the future of the franchise.

"I think it needs to be reinvented completely. But it’s not for me to say."

Whishaw's first appearance as Q came in Skyfall, before he reprised the role in both Spectre and No Time to Die.

He became the latest in a succession of actors to have played the Quartermaster of the Secret Service's research and development following Peter Burton, Desmond Llewelyn and John Cleese.

As for who Whishaw thinks should get the nod to replace Craig as the iconic spy, he didn't mention any specific names but admitted that "people go crazy" about the speculation.

"It’s all deliberate hype," he said. "When you are working on it, it’s incredibly secretive, almost like being a spy.

"You only get the pages of the script that you are in. It's a ploy to create suspense and glamour, but it's kind of fun."

James Bond will return.

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Authors

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.