MOVIE NEWS – Daniel Craig is set to play Andrew Ketterley in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, and the character could hardly be further removed from James Bond. After nearly 15 years as 007, Craig’s new role may finally prove that he has genuinely moved beyond the legendary British spy.

When you look closely at Daniel Craig’s upcoming Narnia role, it does feel like evidence that he has finally left James Bond behind. Craig spent almost 15 years playing 007, becoming the seventh actor to portray the character on screen, before closing out his run as the iconic spy with 2021’s No Time to Die. Since then, he has expanded his career with an increasingly varied set of roles, but it has still been difficult for the wider public to see him as anyone other than James Bond. His place in Greta Gerwig’s new Narnia cast, however, has already started a very different kind of conversation.

Craig will play Andrew Ketterley, Digory Kirke’s uncle, in the film set to arrive in theaters in February 2027 before reaching Netflix the following April. Many are hoping Gerwig does not make too many changes to Uncle Andrew’s personality, while others have begun wondering whether Craig could be playing a character that differs substantially from the one in the book. Casting theories aside, though, if Andrew Ketterley remains the same villainous and eccentric figure from C. S. Lewis’ story, then Craig’s performance in the new film may be the clearest sign yet that he has truly moved beyond James Bond.

Andrew Ketterley Could Be the Complete Opposite of Daniel Craig’s James Bond

It is worth remembering that Daniel Craig has played villains before, but Andrew Ketterley appears to be something else entirely. In 2011, he voiced the villainous pirates Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine and Red Rackham in The Adventures of Tintin, and he also played mobster Connor Rooney in Road to Perdition. Uncle Andrew in Narnia, however, looks far stranger than either of those characters: he is theatrical, excessive, and eccentric, seemingly detached from the chaos he causes while also carrying a deeply cowardly streak. In a strange way, he may even resemble a James Bond villain to a certain degree, except Craig will not be the one trying to stop him this time.

Craig’s career after James Bond has already become notably more varied. His biggest role since leaving the franchise is easily Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out films, whose personality could scarcely be more different from Bond’s, while his portrayal of William Lee in Luca Guadagnino’s 2024 adaptation of Queer also sits miles away from the world of the famous spy. Knives Out has been a particularly effective way for Craig to escape the James Bond mold, because Blanc is quirky, funny, and genuinely intriguing, proving that the actor’s range extends well beyond dark, gritty, emotionally closed-off characters.

Uncle Andrew still feels like a role we have not really seen from Craig before. He has played antagonistic figures in the past, but this Narnia character is so far removed from James Bond that it is difficult to picture him in the part at first, even if that does not make him a bad choice. The exciting part is watching Craig move toward something completely different, and anyone who followed his earlier career knows that he has a sharp sense of humor and is not afraid to get a little strange when a role demands it. That could make Andrew Ketterley one of the most eccentric characters of his entire career.

Craig’s involvement is one major reason why Greta Gerwig’s fantasy adaptation is generating so much interest. The upcoming film makes it increasingly clear that Daniel Craig is capable of leaving James Bond behind, and perhaps Amazon should take notice of that as well. The studio has still not announced who will take over as 007, but the search should not be limited to actors who can run through explosions, fight convincingly, and brood dramatically in close-up shots. The next James Bond may already be right in front of them – they may simply need to accept that James Bond actors can do far more than one type of role.

Source: MovieWeb