Who does not love a Bond movie? The thrills, the spills, the car chases, the fight scenes, the daredevil stunts… it has all the trappings of a typical high-octane action film.

Above all, there is the hero. He is swashbuckling, his irreverence for authority borders on the shocking and shameless, his gladeye is everywhere, his animal magnetism attracts sultry sirens like moths to a flame.

But what if our invincible hero turns vulnerable with injuries for a moment and the director has second thoughts about casting him? This is what happened recently to Cary Joji Fukunaga, who helms the new film ‘No Time to Die.’ He said he toyed with the idea of casting “potential new actors’ to replace Daniel Craig for the new Bond film.

An injury that Craig sustained while filming the 2015 film Spectre made the actor have second thoughts whether he would be able to carry on in the lead role.

But he was not the only one having doubts over his continuance. Director Fukunaga too thrashed out the idea with producer Barbara Broccoli at his favourite Japanese restaurant in New York. Over wine and celestial delicacies, they explored all the possible candidates for the lead role.

Among the potential replacements were Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston and, recently, Regé-Jean Page, star of the Bridgerton serial.

The actor said No Time to Die would be his last as the inimitable Bond. The new action-packed saga is Craig’s fifth instalment as hero of the film, according to the Independent.

It is still not clear who will replace him as 007.

‘No Time to Die’ is slated for release in cinemas in the United Kingdom in September.