It was Craig who, on a sudden instinct over conversation at a party, asked Mendes - better known for his stage direction and dramas like "American Beauty" and "Revolutionary Road" than action movies - if he wanted to direct. The two had previously worked together on 2002's "Road to Perdition," before Craig's stardom swelled.

"It mattered that it came from him," says Mendes. "I don't think I would have done it without Dan. It's much easier going to Javier or Ralph knowing they're already into the franchise because of Daniel. He's made it cool in a different way."

Craig also approached Bardem, a selective actor whose performance in "Skyfall" is already being considered among the best Bond villains.

"I asked him as well," Craig confesses sheepishly. "Overstretching my job description. You're an actor! Stick to f------ acting! You can't go hiring people."

But producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who years ago inherited control of the franchise from their father Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, have been quite content with Craig's initiative. The 44-year-old actor is signed for two more Bond films, but Broccoli would have it be longer.

"We're not going to let him get away," says Broccoli. "We want him to keep making these films as long as he's willing."

"Daniel gives you more opportunities," Wilson adds. "He is definitely the main reason people want to be in these films."

Mendes credits another inspiration: Christopher Nolan, whose "Dark Knight" trilogy of Batman films, Mendes says, "made B movies into A films."

"It's very important in an environment now where you can only make very big movies or very small movies, that very big movies are not robbed of meaning," Mendes says. "I'm not saying they all have to be treatises on the future of the world or humanity, but they can carry something that's not just escapism."

"Skyfall" has plenty of that too: the gadgets, the chase sequences, the one-liners. But Craig and company believe they've now successfully recalibrated Bond for a new era. After "Quantum," Craig says, he had no idea where the films could go. Now, he's clearly energized by the foundation they've laid with "Skyfall".

"I want an exploding volcano with a base underneath it," Craig says. "Why not? I think we're allowed. We've set the tone. The tone's good, it's a good tone. It's a serious tone, but it's funny and all those things."

"The stories," he says, "now seem endless."