Daniel Craig has been noticeably silent as rumors have swirled about his role in the James Bond franchise, and whether or not he's truly ready to walk away from 007. For months, there's been talk that he's been offered a boatload of money to return, that he's still the top pick for the gig, and that producers have already moved on to any one of an increasingly large number of replacement candidates. So what's the truth?

It's still a little murky, but Craig has finally broken his silence on the subject. Birth.Movies.Death. reports that during an appearance at The New Yorker Festival this past weekend, the actor said there haven't been any official talks yet about Bond 25, "because everybody's just a bit tired" from making the last flick in the franchise. And while he didn't give any definitive answers about whether or not he'd be suiting up again for the franchise, Craig certainly left the door open, and also clarified his infamous "slash my wrists" remarks from the "Spectre" press tour.

The actor admitted that when he made that statement, he was simply exhausted from the stress of shooting "Spectre," comparing the process to completing a marathon. You wouldn't ask a runner crossing the finish line when their next race will be, Craig reasoned, and an actor wrapping a massive action flick isn't ready to commit to another one at that point, either.

Still, making the Bond movies has been an overall positive experience, he said, calling the frenetic six-month turnaround from production to release "one of the most thrilling things as an actor you can do."

"I love this job, I get a massive kick out of it. And if I can keep getting a kick out of it, I will," Craig told the crowd. " ... The things I get to do on a Bond movie, and the type of work it is -- there is no other job like it. And were I to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly."

While those words are by no means any sort of guarantee that Craig will be back as Bond, they do leave the actor some wiggle room (and perhaps serve as a mea culpa to the 007 producers for his harsh "Spectre" comments). But the actor's remarks also make it clear that it will still be a while before there's any definitive news about Bond 25, so we'll have to wait for his decision. Stay tuned.

[via: Birth.Movies.Death.]

Photo credit: Getty Images for The New Yorker