5 Reasons Why Daniel Craig Should Leave James Bond After Spectre

3. He Won't Want To Overstay His Welcome

Age is a tricky thing with 007. James Bond himself is meant to be in his mid-thirties (at least on paper), but the range of the actors playing him has gone from 29 (Lazenby) to 57 (Moore), with the average age of departure being in the mid-forties. Craig is now 47, and while he still looks the part and is fully capable of playing Bond, there's more than physical suitability that to consider. You see, the age issue with Bond is less to do with the passing of years itself and more to do with actors staying in the role too long for them. Regardless of their respective ages, Connery, Moore and Brosnan were all past it by the time they drank their last martini, with the latter pair both considering going longer than they did (and the former actually returning for the unofficial entry Never Say Never), which certainly mars their legacies. There's a big reason why the reputations of George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton have increased in recent years - they didn't stick around long enough to start wearing clown make-up or (shudder) surf a CGI wave. It's better to go out on a high than wait until audiences no longer want you. We don't know yet whether Spectre will be as good as Skyfall (or any good at all), but even it does wind up being A View To A Kill-level disaster, Craig would still be highly regarded in terms of legacy and have a better average than most. Leave 'em wanting and all that.