British agent James Bond has made a habit out of saving the world, having done so numerous times over the past 56 years. But for a time it seemed like no one could save agent 007 himself in what had seemingly become a never-ending quest to find a director for what will be actor Daniel Craig’s fifth and final turn in the role. That quest is finally at an end.

Bond 25, which is the working title until an official one is given to it (probably early next year), will be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who is best known for directing the critically acclaimed Netflix film Beasts of No Nation and season one of HBO’s True Detective. A brief official statement was issued by producers Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, and Daniel Craig (the first for a Bond actor to be featured in that behind the scenes role). “We are delighted to be working with Cary. His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure,” they said.

We never said it was a long statement. 

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Although numerous directors were approached and discussed for the project over the past couple of years, the only one who was actually signed was Danny Boyle (Trainspotting), but that partnership didn’t last very long with him departing the film over Hollywood’s famous creative differences. 

Daniel made his debut as 007 in Casino Royale (2006), which was followed by Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012, which is the most successful film in the series, grossing over $1 billion), and Spectre (2015). He is the sixth actor to play the part, following Sean Connery (six films), George Lazenby (one film), Roger Moore (seven films), Timothy Dalton (two films), and Pierce Brosnan (four films). The series began with 1962’s Dr. No

Bond 25 begins filming March 4, 2019, for a release date of Feb. 14, 2020. Considering that Spectre will have been released about five years earlier, it has raised some concerns among critics and long-time fans that something is amiss with the franchise — at the start, the films came out a year apart from each other, then fell into a pattern of every two years for the most part. In recent years, however, that gap has gotten longer and, as Mission Impossible: Fallout recently proved, there are filmmakers more than willing to supply audiences with the excitement they obviously still crave. Hopefully the new 007 adventure will pull out all the stops and prove once again why nobody does it better than Bond. James Bond.