Craig says on Late Show he’ll be back as 007

Daniel Craig photo opposing Brexit

Daniel Craig said on CBS’s Late Show said he’ll be back as James Bond in Bond 25.

“Yes,” he said answering a question from host Stephen Colbert whether he’d return as 007.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Craig said. “I have to apologize to all the people I’ve done interviews with today.” Earlier in the day, he said in radio interviews he hadn’t made a decision yet.

“It’s been a couple of months,” Craig said, responding to a question from Colbert how long he had known. “I always wanted to. I needed a break.”

Colbert reminded the actor about his 2015 comments, made shortly after the conclusion of the filming of SPECTRE, how he’d rather “slash my wrists” rather than do another Bond film.

“There’s no point in making excuses,” Craig said. “Instead of saying something with style and grace, I gave a stupid answer.”

At the end of the interview, Colbert asked Craig if this was his last Bond film.

“I think this is it,” Craig replied. “I just want to go out on a high note.”

UPDATE 5:40 a.m., Aug. 16: The official James Bond website followed up the interview with a short announcement.

The interview is now available on YouTube:

Dick Locher, editorial and Dick Tracy cartoonist, dies

Dick Locher, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and the third primary artist on the Dick Tracy comic strip, died earlier this month at 88, according to an obituary posted by the Chicago Tribune.

Toward the end of Locher’s run, he also took over the scripting duties while continuing to do editorial cartoons for the Tribune.

Locher was an art assistant to Tracy creator Chester Gould (1900-1985) in the 1950s. He later found success as an editorial cartoonist at the Chicago Tribune, the home newspaper for the Tracy strip.

Gould retired in late 1977. His initial successors were writer Max Allan Collins and artist Rick Fletcher, another Gould art assistant.

Dick Tracy meets Pruneface after the Nazi has been thawed out, 1983. Drawn by Dick Locher.

When Fletcher died in 1983, Locher took over the art duties on Tracy. That same year, one of Locher’s first highlights was a story line where Nazi spy Pruneface (one of the most famous Gould villains for the strip) was revived from suspended animation by Dr. Freezdrei, a former Nazi scientist.

Initially, Tracy believes it’s a hoax. A few years earlier, the Collins-Fletcher team had a story where there is supposedly a Mumbles clone. But it turned out it was the original villain with a face lift.

However, in the 1980s story, it turns out Pruneface really had been in suspended animation. Tracy is not happy upon hearing the news. “Back in those days, we had an electric chair to thaw him out,” Tracy says.

Pruneface attempts to get revenge on Tracy. But a mysterious figure intervenes.

Locher drew the Tracy strip until 2009 and wrote it until 2011, according to the Tribune obituary.

Somewhere, the Spy Commander has a Tracy cartoon drawn by Locher that was the subject of a silent auction to benefit the Society of Professional Journalists.

Daniel Craig says he’s still deciding about Bond 25

Daniel Craig in 2012 during filming of Skyfall.

Daniel Craig, in an interview with a Boston radio station, said he still hasn’t decided about Bond 25.

“No decision has been made at the moment,” Craig told Magic 106.7. “There’s a lot of noise out there. Nothing official has been confirmed. I’m not like holding out for more money or doing anything like that.”

The actor said there are “very personal decisions to be made at the moment… They’re desperate to get going. I would, in theory, I would love to do it. There have been no decisions just yet.”

Craig was interviewed by the station to promote Logan Lucky, the Steven Soderbergh-directed heist movie that opens on Friday. Craig also is scheduled to appear on The Late Show on CBS tonight.

The noise Craig referred to includes a story earlier this month by The Sun tabloid in the U.K. saying he has agreed to do two more 007 films. Eon Productions announced last month that Bond 25 will have a U.S. release date of November 2019, but didn’t specify cast, director or distributor.

Shout out to Marcos Konze who spotted the link to the interview and posted it on a James Bond message board. He also has a post on the James Bond Brasil website.

UPDATE (11:58 p.m.): @Bond25Film spotted another Craig interview and provided a transcript.

Here’s what Craig had to say about #Bond25 during today’s @tntradioempire interview: (N.B. It has been edited for clarity). #JamesBond pic.twitter.com/8Ex4BEJA6i

— Bond 25 (@Bond25Film) August 15, 2017

UPDATE II (5:15 p.m.): Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had an investor call today after reporter second-quarter financial results. The only mention of Bond 25 was CEO Gary Barber noting the movie’s November 2019 release date. He said the film would reunite the writers of some of the most successful 007 movies. He did not mention Neal Purvis and Robert Wade by name.