Daniel Craig renews his license to thrill as Chinese audiences prepare to say farewell to their favorite 007, Xu Fan reports.

No Time to Die, the latest installment of the James Bond franchise, is currently screening on the Chinese mainland. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

He is back on Her Majesty's Secret Service. Except, of course, it's not that secret. It's actually showing at a screen near you. No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond, opened across Chinese mainland theaters on Oct 22, and is topping the country's box office.

As one of the world's longest-running franchises, the iconic British secret agent's missions have fascinated moviegoers for 59 years. But for most Chinese fans, their first experience of the hero who drinks his dry Martinis shaken, not stirred, was Casino Royale, the first Bond blockbuster released on the Chinese mainland in January 2007.

Coincidentally, Casino Royale, then a soaring global hit, out earning all previous 20 movies, was also Craig's first Bond movie, making his face, and pursed lips, the most familiar incarnation of Bond to most Chinese fans.

With five movies in 15 years, a longer tenure than his predecessors, Craig has made himself a Hollywood legend. From enduring huge stress to struggling with pain and injury, Craig has given a grittier, yet more resonating rendering of Bond, shifting the spy created by Ian Fleming from international playboy to a more humanized, fallible man of advancing age suffering trauma and inner struggle.

Discussing his tenure as Bond during an online interview with Chinese journalists, Craig says he feels "greatly relieved and very excited that the movie is going to be seen in China".

"A year ago, I couldn't have imagined that the movie would actually be in cinemas. I think we've all gone through something very difficult over the past 18 months, and cinemas seem to be so low down on the list of priorities. I'm just so grateful that people can go and watch the movie in the cinemas－where it should be－with a group of people," he says.

Daniel Craig starts his final mission with a new Bond girl played by Ana de Armas. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The 25th film in the franchise, No Time to Die starts with Bond holidaying with French psychologist Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux, in a town in southern Italy, but their romantic getaway is disrupted by the villain organization Spectre, resulting in a misunderstanding that splits the couple.

Five years later, Bond, who is enjoying a "tranquil "retirement in Jamaica, is invited by the CIA to find a kidnapped scientist and a deadly biological weapon lost with him. Lyutsifer Safin, an enigmatic villain who also has a traumatic past, emerges as the latest dangerous enemy that Bond has to face off against.

Speaking about his new movie, Craig says he has tried to keep the character as close to himself as possible. "The less invincible he (Bond) is, the more I feel like he's a real character. I've tried to keep him as a real soul, as someone who's affected by the world and therefore grounded somewhere in reality," he explains.

Falling in love with performing at just 6 years old, Craig started acting on the stage of National Youth Theatre of Great Britain as a teenager. He says he had never thought he would portray Bond before being chosen ahead of hundreds of other candidates, including Hugh Jackman and Colin Farrell.

"Honestly, I didn't believe that. I thought about being James Bond and being lots of other people as a child. But as an actor, I never thought that would happen," he laughs, adding that he even pinched himself to confirm he was not dreaming on the film set of No Time to Die.

In the recently released documentary Being James Bond, now available on multiple Chinese streaming platforms such as Tencent Video and iQiyi, Craig reveals how he endured immense speculation over whether the first "blond Bond" could be the qualified successor to continue a cinematic dynasty that started with the late Sean Connery.

Bond consults with "M". (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Now, with Craig successfully wrapping up his final mission, one of the most debated topics is who will take on the legendary 007 character. In the film, British actress Lashana Lynch appears as the next agent to bear the iconic code name, but the designation comes with a lot of baggage and big shoes to fill.

"I believe that anybody can play 007. I kind of feel, and sort of maintain, that there should be better writing for non-Caucasian people. If this is a good trigger point for getting better parts for people of color and for women, then it's great," says Craig.

The luxury Omega watch and the iconic 1963 Aston Martin DB5 sports coupe that have become synonymous with the character return in No Time to Die, and fans will be satisfied with more high-tech gadgets featuring in the new movie than in Craig's previous four Bond outings.

On that point, Craig, a nostalgic person, reveals his favorite Bond gadget is a little box used by Connery in 1967's You Only Live Twice, which would attach to a safe and lights indicated when the correct combination had been achieved. "Then, you'll understand how technologically savvy I am," Craig jokes.

Being Bond is not easy, and that's probably also true for his enemies. Rami Malek, who plays the villainous Safin, following Craig in talking to Chinese media via video call, reveals his first reaction when he heard that he was invited to join the franchise.

"As an audience member watching Casino Royale, I remember thinking: 'Wow! I'm connecting to this character in a way that I never have before.' So, I also thought: 'Oh! It's going to be very sad when I have to take this man down.' But those are the rules when you play a villain, and I take them very seriously," he says.

Bond enjoys his retirement before being called back into action once again. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Also sharing insights about the legacy and future of the cinematic world's most famous spy, Malek says Craig has made the character universal by giving him a rich, complex and human quality, and the new tale has assertively elevated female roles.

The female characters in the new film are mostly strong, independent and capable, from Seydoux's psychologist to Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas portraying a CIA operative and Lynch's MI6 agent.

"The quintessential Bond girl does not exist anymore," comments Malek. "I think moving forward in that direction is good for everyone, and especially good for young girls, who are watching and really being able to look at these characters and identify with them. In fact, 007 can just be a number."

While that number seems to remain as a hot topic, drawing impassioned debate from fans, it is the number surrounding box-office takings that might be more relevant to the actual industry, especially those parties running cinemas.

Grossing 183 million yuan ($28.6 million) as of Monday, future takings for No Time to Die have been plunged into uncertainty, as cinemas in some parts of the country temporarily shut down operations in a bid to avoid cluster infection following a spike in reported COVID-19 cases. Cinemas in Beijing's Xicheng, Dongcheng and Changping districts were the latest to close their doors over the weekend.

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn