Léa Seydoux played an integral role in Daniel Craig’s era of James Bond – but the actor doesn’t think the franchise will “be the same” under Amazon’s ownership.
The French star, who played Dr Madeline Swann in Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021), is worried that handing the keys of the long-running film series over to American owners will hurt its “British spirit”.
“I really loved working with Barbara Broccoli and her brother Michael,” Seydoux said of the previous overseers, who sold the rights over to Amazon MGM in February 2025 for a reported $1bn.
When asked if she’d consider reprising her role of Madeline, she told ELLE UK: “It was one of the best experiences, a pure delight. And I don’t know, it will be different.”
She called incoming director Denis Villeneuve, with whom she worked on Dune: Part 2, a “great choice” for the next chapter, but expressed doubt about the project.
“Let’s see. I’m curious how they will reinvent it,” she said. “But for me, it will never be the same because it was Barbara’s father who initiated the Bond movies. Now, I don’t know. It became American. I hope they will keep the British spirit.”
As the hunt for the next James Bond reaches its final stages, Craig’s former co-stars are unsure whether they’re going to be in the next film.
Rory Kinnear, who played M’s chief of staff, Bill Tanner, in Quantum of Solace (2008) through to No Time to Die (2021), recently said he hadn’t heard anything about the new film, but is “sure” that some of the old guard might be asked to return.
“That’s the exciting thing – I’m sure they’ll want to hold on to some continuity, what it means to people,” Kinnear told The Times. “But there’ll be a whole different approach.”
Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden is the current favourite to take over the role of 007 Bond, with other contenders including Jack Barton (Heartstopper) and Callum Turner.
Last month, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who is writing the next movie, revealed that the character had been cast – and hinted that he’s been writing with one particular actor in mind.
When asked whether he had written the film to fit the chosen actor or based on what he already knew about the character, he told Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s a bit of both. It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.”
When quizzed about when exactly he found out who was going to succeed Craig in the role, Knight squirmed, adding: “I’ll refer you to my previous answer.”
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