Ben Whishaw expresses doubt over James Bond comeback

Ben Whishaw doubts he will return to the James Bond franchise.

The 43-year-old actor starred opposite Daniel Craig as the MI6 gadgets whizz ‘Q’ from 2012’s ‘Skyfall’ to ‘No Time to Die’ in 2021, though has now admitted he likely won’t be in the next installment as series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will probably want "a completely new cast" for the reboot.

During an appearance on BBC One’s ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg’, Whishaw said: "I don’t think I’m going to be in the next one. I think they’re going to start all over again, and with a new cast, a completely new cast, I think that’s my hunch, but I don’t know. I have no idea."

The ‘Paddington’ star did suggest that he was open to appearing in the franchise again if the opportunity to do so ever arose.

He added: "I think it might need a kind of new lease of life and a whole new group of people. I think it could be good for it, but if they asked me, I would do it, of course."

Whishaw isn’t the only James Bond actor to open up over the future of the series, as his co-star Naomie Harris - who played Moneypenny from ‘Skyfall’ to ‘No Time to Die’ - has also recently insisted she has "absolutely no idea" what’s next for the franchise.

Speaking on SiriusXM’s ‘The Jess Cagle Show’, she said: "I don’t know what’s gonna happen for the next.

"I don’t know where they’re going, what direction. I have absolutely no idea and I’m so glad that I don’t have any idea, otherwise, I’d slip up, so nobody tells me anything."

The ‘Moonlight’ actress added she "will really miss" playing Moneypenny and the familiarity that came with the role.

She lamented: "I will really miss it because as an actress, or an actor, and in this profession, you’re just kind of like a gypsy going around on your own constantly.

"And for the first time, I had a sense of continuity going back to the same place to work with at Pinewood Studios, to work with the same team, and it’s a beautiful feeling to have that.

"So yeah, [I] feel a bit lost without it, to be honest."