Pierce Brosnan has said he would be ‘interested’ in returning as James Bond.

The 71-year-old actor portrayed 007 in four movies between 1995 and 2002 – GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day – and would be tempted to reprise his role as the famous spy.

However, he conceded that it would be better for ‘fresh blood’ to lead the franchise in a new era under Amazon’s creative control, following a recent bombshell billion-dollar deal with longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.

‘Of course, how could I not be interested? But it’s a delicate situation now. I think it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, really. I think so,’ he told GQ, while confessing that it was ‘a rather romantic notion and idea’.

But while noting that ‘everything changes, everything falls apart’, the Black Adam star added: ‘I think that it’s best left to another man, really. Fresh blood.’

His comments come at a time of enormous change for the franchise following over three years of no announcements regarding the next Bond actor or film.

The character last graced our screens in 2021’s No Time to Die, where he was dramatically killed off before an onscreen credit promised that James Bond ‘will return’.

Over the years, many actors have been discussed as contenders for the part, including front-runner Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 34, who was even reported as having filmed the famous opening gun barrel sequence and as having been offered the part last March – but it was swiftly denied by insiders.

Other rising stars reportedly in the frame have included James Norton, Challengers star Josh O’Connor and Wicked and Bridgerton actor Jonathan Bailey.

Since the news of Amazon taking full control of Bond though, Harris Dickinson, 28, has become popular with the bookies, while The Brutalist star Joe Alwyn, 34, said he would ‘throw his hat in the ring’ for the role if it was possible.

Under the control of half-siblings Broccoli and Wilson, children of legendary original 007 producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, there were strong feelings that the next actor cast should be British – as well as male and in his 30s – while directors were known to have had to concede final creative say on matters to Broccoli.

This could all change now, as Amazon MGM Studios looks to confirm the bosses who will herald James Bond into his next era.

Elsewhere in the interview, Brosnan, who has enjoyed an acting career that has spanned for over four decades, described the pleasure he gets from having the freedom to be selective when it comes to taking parts.

‘I’ve always lived an artistic life. So I’ve always had the good fortune to have some piece of talent that I can polish and some kind of passion for the work to go through the rough patches,’ he commented.

‘I mean, I love what I do, and certainly now at a time in my life where I have choices and more importantly, I have the warmth and the desire to do good work, to challenge oneself, to create something that is unexpected, to create something that has value.’

Brosnan’s 1999 heist movie The Thomas Crown Affair, initially filmed in 1968 with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, is being remade once again with Michael B. Jordan in the lead role.

The Mamma Mia! star is supportive of the ‘gifted actor’s’ new take on the picture, which he insists is ‘all his for the doing and the taking’.

‘I really love heist movies, it’s why I made the remake and the timing for me was perfect in the days that were of MGM and James Bond. So, yes, good luck. I wish him every success,’ he added.