Among the many movies nominated for this year’s Oscars, Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond in No Time to Die picked up three nods in the Best Original Song, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects categories. However, while producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson were happy for the nominations, they feel that Daniel Craig also deserved to be recognized in his own right for his swansong as the iconic super-spy. As the end of an era, it would certainly have been a way to go out, but sadly was not meant to be.

Daniel Craig’s time as Bond saw the most grounded, emotional, and brutal iteration of the spy put to screen, with the character being beaten, losing many people he loved and cared for, and ultimately sacrificing himself for the greater good in a true hero’s finale. From the moment Casino Royale kicked off Craig’s run, there was no doubt that he went from being a possibly ok Bond to one of the best sitting alongside Sean Connery very quickly.

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While speaking to The Times, Broccoli and Wilson both acknowledged that to them Daniel Craig deserved to have won awards for his final performance as James Bond. Wilson said:

While the movie has pulled in nominations at all of the major awards ceremonies, including winning Best British Picture at The BAFTAs, Craig has not been given any personal recognition for the film, and it is fair to say that many fans of the Bond franchise feel exactly the same as Wilson about the lack of love shown towards Craig.

If there is any kind of trend around the Oscars of recent years, it is that big blockbuster movies and the biggest audience hits just cannot get into the big categories with the Academy. In 2021, the two biggest Hollywood movies of the year were No Time to Die and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which between them pulled in almost $2.5 billion between them worldwide but only pulled in four Oscar nods between them.

This is not something new, as for many years the Oscars have mostly ignored the movies that have kept the big money coming into the industry. While there have been some big winners over the decades such as The Lord of the Rings and Titanic, with many of the biggest movies in the world coming in the form of action movies or superhero films, neither of which has ever been a favorite of the Academy.

While Daniel Craig will not be getting that dream ending of an Oscar for his worthy performance, there do seem to be some changes happening within the Academy that could impact the future. This year saw the introduction of a new Oscar category for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film, which could see future Bond actors, and many others in movies often cast aside, to get some recognition in the future.