Daniel Craig is over it. When he was first cast as James Bond in "Casino Royale," some longtime fans of the series cried foul. A blond James Bond? Replacing Pierce Brosnan already? "Casino" may have been a worldwide smash, but Craig isn't one to disrespect his previous critics.

"There was never a point where I punched the air," Craig says. "The movie worked, but I did everything I could to make my part in the movie work, so there is no kind of, 'See, I told you so.' I kept on saying, 'We make the best movie we can,' and thankfully that worked."

The last time we spoke to Craig, he was intently focused on filming the dramatic climax of the latest Bond adventure, "Quantum of Solace," in the Chilean desert. A little more than two months later, Craig seems much more relaxed as shooting continues at the production's latest spectacular locale: the floating opera stage along Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria. Surprisingly, Craig says he actually feels more pressure for "Quantum" to be successful than he did for "Casino." The 40-year-old Brit says, "I just try to apply the same rules as last time, and hopefully that will work out."

The actor also admits they couldn't repeat what they did last time; the franchise had to grow. That's why he says he "jumped" when Marc Forster was mentioned as a possible director for "Quantum," because of the filmmaker's experience on character pieces such as "Monster's Ball" and "Finding Neverland."

"I want the audience to be involved with the characters," Craig says. "The action and the explosions, everything that goes along with the Bond movies, they can be taken care of, but I want the audience to be pulled in and involved."

That means more new members were added to the 007 crew, including production designer Dennis Gassner ("The Golden Compass") and Forster's longtime cinematographer, Roberto Schaefer. The trio adds a scope to "Quantum" that Craig feels hasn't been in the series in quite a while, admitting, "I'm a huge fan of the early Ken Adams' [production designer on 'Dr. No' and 'Goldfinger'] films, because they looked stunning. That's much more what I want to do."

Still, many fans are wondering when the numerous souped-up gadgets and longtime characters such as Q and Miss Moneypenny will return. Craig says those references aren't in "Quantum," but no one is closing the door on their appearing in future installments.

"The answer is 'No' at the moment. We're not going back," Craig says. "It's not that we're avoiding it; it's just that this story hasn't taken it on. I'd like to bring those back in, but we have to be intelligent about it."

As for his latest 007 endeavor, Craig is always up for more action.

"There have been different challenges this time," Craig admits. Then he slyly adds, "But I'm gonna go into a restaurant tonight and shoot people. So, that's going to be a challenge in itself."

"Quantum of Solace" opens nationwide Nov. 7.

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