BEN WHISHAW CONFIRMS EXIT FROM JAMES BOND FRANCHISE AHEAD OF REBOOT

Actor Ben Whishaw has confirmed he will not return as Q for the upcoming James Bond reboot. Whishaw stated that the 007 series "needs to be reinvented completely" for its next instalment, adding that "it's not for me to say". "The world has changed so much since the last Bond film so you have to find what is relevant about it," he said. He also expressed regret over the "unsatisfying" portrayal of Q's sexuality, noting that the films made only a passing mention of it without developing the detail further.

Whishaw played Q, the quartermaster who heads the MI6 research and development team, across three films alongside Daniel Craig. He succeeded John Cleese in the role and made his debut in the 2012 film Skyfall. Whishaw reprised the part in Spectre in 2015 and No Time to Die in 2021. Craig originally took over the role of James Bond in 2006 before concluding his run as the secret agent in No Time to Die. Whishaw, who came out as gay in 2013, added: "I rarely think about Bond. That would be weird."

The search for the next actor to play James Bond began in May. Addressing public interest in Craig's successor, Whishaw said that "people go crazy about it" and called the surrounding attention "all deliberate hype". He explained that filming the franchise involves strict secrecy and compared the process to being a spy. Whishaw stated that actors receive only the script pages in which they appear. He described that practice as "a ploy to create suspense and glamour, but it's kind of fun".