Daniel Craig has confirmed he will return for his fifth James Bond movie.
The 49-year-old actor revealed he will reprise his role as the suave spy in the forthcoming 25th film in the series, and he "couldn’t be happier" to have signed up for the part again.
When asked on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ if he would be playing the iconic role for a fifth time, he replied: "Yes. I couldn’t be happier.
"I’ve been quite cagey about it. I’ve been doing interviews about it all day and people have been asking me and I’ve been kind of coy but I kind of felt like, if I was going to speak the truth, I should speak the truth to you."
The star admitted he "always wanted to return" to the role, but confirmed the next Bond movie will be his last.
He added: "I think this is it. This is it. I just want to go out on a high note, and I can’t wait."
Daniel previously hit the headlines for saying he would only do another Bond film "for the money", and would rather "slash [his] wrists" than star in one again.
But the actor – who played 007 in ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Quantum of Solace’, ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’ – has admitted that comment was "really stupid".
He added: "Look, there’s no point in making excuses about it, but it was two days after I’d finished shooting the last movie, I went straight to an interview, and someone said, ‘Would you do another one?’
"Instead of saying something with style and grace, I gave a really stupid answer."
The next Bond film will be released in 2019, a tweet on the film franchise’s official Twitter account recently confirmed.
It read: "James Bond will return to US cinemas on November 8, 2019 with a traditional earlier release in the UK and the rest of the world."
Before it was known Daniel was returning to the role, several stars were linked to the part, including Idris Elba, who recently admitted the actor has been "clever" in distancing himself from the character.
Speaking about speculation the star will be paid $150 million to return to the franchise, Idris said: "Daniel Craig is a great Bond.
"I think honestly he and his business team are very clever, ‘No I won’t do it. $150million? Yes, I will do it.’ "
Daniel Craig confirms James Bond role return
