ANGRY James Bond fans have threatened to boycott Casino Royale over the casting of Daniel Craig as 007, according to a report on the BBC.

The group is so incensed by the decision to cast Craig that they have even launched a website, www.craignotbond.com, which is looking to recruit more people to their cause.

The website calls on fans ‘to stop Sony and Eon [Productions] from ruining the future of James Bond by hiring Daniel Craig’.

News of the website campaign is certain to come as a blow to the producers of Casino Royale who have recently had to deal with several mishaps on-set and bad press.

Craig, himself, has been in the wars following reports that he was injured while filming a fight sequence, while just last week producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli had to emphatically deny reports that the plot of the latest Bond movie mirrored the accidental shooting of a Brazilian tourist following last year’s July 7 attacks.

British actor Craig, 37, was announced as the sixth James Bond in October last year, following a series of high-profile roles in films such as Layer Cake, Road To Perdition and the recent Steven Spielberg thriller, Munich.

But some Bond fans have been unimpressed since his initial press conference, declaring that he was not the right man to fill 007’s tuxedo.

The craignotbond.com website goes one step further by criticising Wilson and Broccoli for replacing Brosnan – “the most beloved actor to play Bond since Sean Connery” – with Craig.

Backing for Craig

Yet in spite of the actions of the small group of protestors, there is plenty to be optimistic about concerning Casino Royale.

There are plenty of Bond fans who believe that Craig will fit the bill perfectly (witness some of the comments on the Empire Online forums), while his casting has been backed by past Bond stars.

Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has described Craig ‘as a very fine actor’ who will have the last laugh.

While former Bond villain Christopher Lee (who played Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun) urged critics to give Craig a chance.

“People should not pass judgment until they have seen the film,” said Lee while speaking at the Bangkok International Film Festival.

In terms of talent, Casino Royale also boasts a heavyweight line-up. Craig is, undoubtedly, a top actor who is more than capable of bringing the same ruggish qualities to the role that Matt Damon brought to The Bourne Identity.

While the script is being prepared by Paul Haggis, the Bafta award winning and Oscar nominated writer-director of Crash.

Established character actor Jeffrey Wright has also been cast as CIA agent Felix Leiter, while emerging French actress Eva Green takes the role of Bond girl, Vesper Lynd.

Acclaimed Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will play Bond villain, Le Chiffre, while the film itself is being directed by Martin Campbell, who proved sceptics wrong by breathing new life into the franchise with Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye.

Bond star hits back at criticisms

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