James Bond: Daniel Craig’s 007 Story From Casino Royale To Spectre

Daniel Craig will always be a superstar. In the last 14 years, he thrilled fans worldwide with captivating performances in James Bond films. He will grace the screens again this year with the movie No Time To Die, which is set to be released this November. The forthcoming movie will be the 25th installment in the 007 spy film series and Craig’s 5th appearance as James Bond. Apparently, the film will also be Craig’s final adventure in the 007 Bond series.

Daniel Craig has decided to hang up his hat with this one last amazing movie. Yes, James Bond’s next adventure will be Craig’s final outing as the legendary fictional M16 agent. Craig’s extraordinary acting prowess will surely be missed by fans of the 007 franchise, who expect him to go out in style in his final forthcoming flick that will most likely end the story that Skyfall and later, Spectre, started.

Craig’s tenure in the 007 franchise is characterized by serialized storytelling in the films, and No Time To Die, being his final role, will most likely complete the story. The implication here is that the forthcoming blockbuster’s events will connect pieces from movies such as Casino Royale up to the most recent one, Spectre. Considering that the previous installments of James Bond (Daniel Craig) features have embraced serialized storytelling, it is likely that the upcoming smasher will also connect to the previous four installments.

In this article, we write in honor of Craig’s tenure as Ian Fleming’s famous 007 M16 spy agent, by providing a comprehensive walkthrough of Daniel Craig as James Bond. 

Casino Royale (launched in 2006)

Casino Royale is one of the best James Bond movies because it sets off the stage for the entire saga witnessed through the next installments in the series. On this particular installment, we are introduced to James Bond (Daniel Craig), the new M16 agent working for chief M (played by Judi Dench). Unbeknownst to him, the first mission assigned to him is starting a story that’ll haunt him in the upcoming release, No Time To Die.

The first missions place Bond against Le Chiffre (played by Mads Mikkelsen) and Mr. White (played by Jesper Christensen), who are Quantum’s first agents. James Bond beats Le Chiffre in a thrilling baccarat game in the Balkans. On a side note, since the Internet was not mainstream back then, games such as Dragon Island were just starting to earn traction.

Getting back to the movie – after surviving attacks from his enemies, this victory against Le Chiffre introduces him to a friend Felix Leiter (a CIA agent played by Jeffrey Wright).

In Casino Royale, we see Bond working together with Vesper Lynde (played by Eva Green), an M16 treasury agent, and ending up falling for her. However, this relationship turns tragic, as Vesper betrays Bond. Vesper is a secret double agent with a mission of ensuring the survival of her captured boyfriend. 

An action-packed sequence, Bond takes care of Vesper’s bad handlers. Afterward, she commits suicide through drowning, and this leaves Bond emotionally scarred. Following a clue left by Vesper, Bond manages to capture Mr. White, which drives him down a road of infamy. 

Quantum Of Solace (launched in 2008)

James Bond’s next adventure starts just after the action ends in the previous movie, and it is filled with revenge and death. In this installment of the 007 series, we learn M16 is compromised following White’s unsuccessful interrogation. Bond starts looking into terrorist activities around an organization known as Quantum. 

In Casino Royale, we got introduced to Mr. White and Le Chiffre. In Quantum of Solace, we meet Dominic Greene (played by Mathieu Amalric), who is a shady environmental industrialist. Greene wants sole control of Bolivia’s water supply. To get it, he offers the deposed Madrano (a Bolivian General played by Joaquin Cosio) to help in some sort of coup to get the military man back in power.

On the other hand, we see James Bond driven by revenge for Vesper’s death and the urge to uncover Quantum’s reach. He partners up with Camille Montes (played by Olga Kurylenko) to investigate Quantum and stop Greene’s schemes. Montes is driven by revenge for the death of her family, who were killed by General Madrano. 

Bond and Montes get a little help as Felix Leiter joins the action, although the CIA is not interested in stopping Greene. They manage to kill Madron, disrupting Greene’s plans, whom they leave in the desert with nothing but some motor oil. Bond then resumes active service as 007 spy agent, following a request from chief M, but confesses to her at the end that he actually never left.

Skyfall (launched in 2012)

After resuming active service with M16, an unsuccessful mission sees the identities and covers of James Bond fellow agents are right there, in the open. Bond is then shot by Eve Moneypenny (an agent played by Naomie Harris), and he is believed to be dead.

An inquiry chaired by Gareth Mallory (Chairman of ISCP played by Ralph Fiennes) is set up to investigate the ineffectiveness of M16. A short while later, the M16 offices are destroyed following a cyberattack, which exposes the UK’s spy agency’s vulnerability. 

It turns out that ex-M16 agent and now Quantum cyber-terrorist Silva (played by Javier Bardem) was previously left at the mercy of China’s government following a prisoner exchange. He involved several captured agents and had a bone to pick with M. Silva, being now hot in pursuit of vengeance against M. 

The action takes place at Skyfall, which is James Bond’s ancestral home. Bond unsuccessfully tries to protect M and Kincade (the groundskeeper played by Albert Finney), but Silva manages to get to M and to wound her. M succumbs to her injury and is eventually buried. Gareth Mallory takes over as M. 

Spectre (launched in 2015)

James Bond Spectre follows the spy agent on another mission after M’s death. The objective of Bond is to uncover a web of worldwide crime. Bond follows clues left by his previous boss and info provided by Mr. White, and ventures into a journey where he discovers his greatest enemy. 

In this installment, Bond discovers that Quantum was only a scratch on the surface and that the international world of crime known as Spectre was the main foe. Everyone James Bond (Daniel Craig) has battled up to now has been an employee of this organization Spectre, and it is headed by one Ernst Stavro Blofeld (played by Christoph Waltz). Spectre operates by sabotaging governments and committing terrorism. It is later revealed that Ernst Blofeld was previously called Franz Oberhauser, James Bond’s adopted brother.  

At the end of Spectre, we see James Bond leaving M16 behind to focus on his relationship with Dr. Swann. However, as portrayed in the No Time To Die trailer, Swann has a hidden past that resurfaces to send Bond off the deep.

James Bond Movies—Final Thoughts

As noted, No Time To Die will have connections to every Daniel Craig’s 007 movie. As fans of the 007 spy film series anxiously wait for November when the movie officially opens, it is anticipated that secrets will come out, and maybe even a big twist to the plot. From the onset, 007 movies never disappoint, and the upcoming blockbuster is not the exception. What secrets do you think will come out in the new James Bond movie? Also, comment below your thoughts on who is the next James Bond?