Daniel Craig as James Bond

Daniel Craig as James Bond.
As early as February 2005, Craig had been named in the media as a possible contender to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. On April 6, 2005 Craig was reported to have been signed by EON Productions as part of a three-film contract worth £15 million [1], however, this news was later debunked by the BBC [2] who contacted EON for an official report.
According to Craig, MGM offered him the role but the Broccoli family never got in touch with him.

Finally, on October 14, 2005, EON Productions named Daniel Craig as the sixth actor to portray 007, taking over for Pierce Brosnan. Craig signed a three-film contract, with the first, Casino Royale, expected to be released worldwide on November 17, 2006. The announcement was made at noon in London at HMS President, a Royal Naval Reserve station at St Katharine Docks, on the banks of the River Thames downstream of Tower Bridge.
When announced, because Daniel Craig has blond hair instead of Bond's typical dark hair, he was consequently dubbed in the media as "James Blond." Roger Moore also sported a lighter sandy coloured hair throughout many of his films, but he is not considered blond.
Born the year after the release of You Only Live Twice and before the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Craig is the first James Bond actor to be born after the start of the film series, and also the first to be born after Ian Fleming's death in 1964.

The casting of Craig as Bond has been controversial among many fans of the film series, resulting in one group creating a website, craignotbond.com, advocating a boycott of the film unless EON Productions reconsiders its casting, even though production of Casino Royale had already begun. The James Bond fanbase is deeply divided over Craig.

In defense of Craig, a number of websites to counter Craignotbond.com have been created, such as craigasbond.com and craigisbond.net and givecraigachance.com, although these have had little publicity or visits compared to Craignotbond.com. Many actors and actresses who have either worked with Craig or have been featured in previous Bond films have argued that Craig is a good choice as Bond.

This list includes four of the past Bond actors: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan. Miss Moneypenny, Samantha Bond, and the villain Scaramanga, Christopher Lee, have also backed the new Bond, as has former Bond villain Sean Bean, who worked with Craig in Sharpe's Eagle.

Judi Dench has also voiced her support for Craig in this role, and criticized the negative reaction: "I hate how people have been attacking Daniel Craig. It's despicable and it disgusts me. I have filmed with him in Prague and the Bahamas and he is a fine actor. He brings something new and edgy to the role. His critics will be proved wrong."

As production of Casino Royale reached its conclusion, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that pre-production work had already begun on the 22nd Bond film, which will once again star Craig as James Bond. After several months of speculation as to the release date, Wilson and Broccoli officially announced on July 20, 2006 that the film, currently known as Bond 22, will be released on May 2, 2008.