Daniel Craig has addressed the on-going mystery about the next James Bond actor, saying that he ‘does care’ about who replaces him but that it isn’t his ‘decision or problem.’

Speaking to The Times, Daniel opened up about his final outing as the secret service agent and the race to replace him. His last installment came out in 2021, departing the role in the film ‘No Time To Die.’

“I keep saying I don’t [care], because people ask me all the time and I’m an ornery, grumpy old man, so I say I don’t give a s**t,” he explained.

“But I care about it deeply — deeply. I care what the franchise does, because I love Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [G Wilson, the producers]. But it’s not my decision or problem. I wish them luck.”

Since its debut, the 007 franchise has seen seven actors play James Bond in 27 different films. These include Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

With a combined gross of over £5.7 billion to date, the Bond franchise is the fifth-highest-grossing film series of all time.

Fans have been speculating for years who will replace Daniel Craig as the new 007, with new names being suggested.

It was reported earlier this year that Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been “offered” the role by the franchise producers at EON. An exclusive report in The Sun announced that the role was his for the taking but this hasn’t been confirmed.

The team at OLBG released their latest odds last month which reveal the famous figures most likely to be named the next James Bond, and it seems that a number of names are battling it out.

Topping the list is unsurprisingly Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is in the running to replace Craig with odds of 1/2. However, a spanner has been thrown in the works as he is in firm competition with a number of other celebrities.

Coming in second place is James Norton at 3/1, followed closely by Callum Turner at 4/1. It seems that Aaron’s odds are dwindling, despite it being previously reported that the star was “offered” the role of the iconic 007 spy.

In fourth place is Aaron Piere at 9/2. He is then followed by Rege-Jean Page and Henry Cavill who both have odds of 6/1 to take over from Daniel Craig.