Daniel Craig officially announces that he will return as James Bond in 2019

We've been following the rumors for Bond 25 very closely since the start of 2017. Many expected Daniel Craig to walk away from the role after Spectre but rumors began to indicate that he was definitely in talks to return and is the producers' number one pick.

Various rumors have suggested he has already signed on for Bond 25, which is being referred to as Shatterhand internally, and even Bond 26 which is reportedly a remake/adaptation of Her Majesty's Secret Service. None of this has been confirmed yet but other sources are backing up the claims. Craig himself was asked about the subject last night in an interview with Stephen Colbert and he has confirmed he is back as Bond!

When we were originally writing this article, the news was that he was still considering it and that the rumors were nonsensical but it was all a ploy! Craig said on Colbert's show that he wanted to personally deliver the news on TV during the Stephen Colbert show.

When asked if he would return to the role, Craig responded with a straight-up "Yes," before saying that he's "known for a couple of months". "We've been discussing it, we've just been trying to figure things out," he explained, adding, "I always wanted to, I needed a break."

He went on to express his excitement and confirmed this will indeed be his final outing as Bond by stating "I think this is it." He went on to say that he wants to go out with a bang. I just want to go out on a high note, and I can't wait."

Earlier in the day, Craig lied to a Boston radio show and said that it had yet to be decided.

"I'd hate to burst the bubble, but no decision has been made at the moment. There's a lot of noise out there and nothing official has been confirmed and I'm not, like, holding out for more money or doing anything like that. It's just all very personal decisions to be made at the moment," Craig said on Morning Magic 106.7. "I know they're desperate to get going and I would in theory love to do it, but there is no decision just yet."

"I have to apologize to all the people I've done interviews with today, because I wanted to tell you," he said to Colbert.

Craig also took a moment to elaborate on his comments that he made after the release of Spectre. He said that he'd rather slash his wrists than do another one but it sounds like he was just incredibly exhausted.

"There's no point making excuses about it, but it was two days after I had finished shooting the last movie and I went straight to an interview where someone asked, 'Would you do another one?' and I went, 'No!'"

There you have it, Daniel Craig is officially James Bond again! He will finish his tenure as Bond with the untitled 25th Bond flick which is set to release on November 8th, 2019. The movie is without a director at the moment but that's likely next on the to-do list for the Bond producers.

[The Hollywood Reporter]