Out promoting his new film, Grimsby, Mark Strong was asked whether he would like to star as a Bond villain with his good friend Daniel Craig. The two have been friends since 1996, when they stared together on a BBC drama Our Friends in the North (check out that gnarly photo above from the show - yes, that's also Christopher Eccleston). Craig is also the godfather of Strong's eldest son. So it's not as if Strong is just giving his own personal thoughts on the subject, it stands to reason that he would know if Craigs was truly retiring his Aston Martin and laser fountain pen.
"Do you know what, I’d have loved to have played the villain in a Bond movie while Daniel was doing it because he’s a pal and that would have been great. But I think he’s come to the end of his Bond time and so it’s probably never going to happen, but that would have always been great. He has been [wonderful] and he’s loved it. But I think he feels like he’s mined it. He’s done what he wants with it. That point has come."
Back in 2012, Craig actually signed a contract for 2 more Bond films after Skyfall. He delivered on one, Spectre, but it sounds as if he's looking for a backdoor exit out of the second. With Spectre grossing $879.4 million from an estimated budget of $245 million, what are the odds that Sony lets Craig walk?