Ralph Fiennes on James Bond: "I’m very keen to continue training the new Bond"

Ralph Fiennes would like to train the next James Bond.

While promoting his new Netflix film The Dig, the actor tells 12DOVE and Total Film about being part of the Bond films beyond actor Daniel Craig's final film. In Skyfall, Fiennes' character Mallory took over as M, the head of MI6. Judi Dench previously played the character.

"If anyone from Eon Films is listening, I'm very keen to continue training the new Bond," Fiennes says with a laugh. "I love playing M, and I love being part of that franchise. But who knows? Things have to change. But I love working with Daniel. He's a terrific Bond. I will treasure that experience."

The repeatedly delayed No Time to Die will be Craig's last outing as the spy, and at the moment, we still don't know who’ll be replacing him – though Tom Hardy and Idris Elba regularly pop up in predictions, and Bridgerton's Regé Jean-Page has recently joined the pool of potential Craig successors.

As excellent a 007 as Craig has been, one of the highlights of his Bond movies has definitely been the supporting cast, with Fiennes' M, Ben Whishaw's Q, and Naomie Harris' Moneypenny all standout characters. Fiennes wouldn't be the first M to stick around for multiple Bonds, either, so there doesn't seem to be any reason why we couldn't see him again post-cast shake-up (or stir-up).

No Time to Die, which also stars Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, and Rami Malek, is currently set for release on October 8, 2021. Hopefully it'll stick to that date, after the pandemic shuffled it all the way back from April 2020.

While you wait for the next Bond installment to finally hit the big screen, check out our roundup of 2021's movie release dates – and see which movie took the top spot in our best Bond movies ranking.