Do you think Daniel Craig's life has changed significantly since "Casino Royale" became a worldwide smash a year ago? You bet it has, and the producers of his latest film are hoping that new notoriety will factor into box office magic for "The Golden Compass." But after already agreeing to commit a good portion of his life to playing James Bond, what convinced the Brit to join yet another epic franchise?

"It didn't really cross my mind," Craig says. "I'm such a big Philip Pullman fan and [of] his philosophies and his morals and the way he looks at the world and mostly the lessons in the stories. He writes children's stories, but with major adult themes and sort of major ideas about being a good person and making the right choices."

If you've read the author's trilogy, you know that Craig's character, Lord Asriel, is a scientist and adventurer determined to save his world (a parallel universe to our own) from the increasingly diabolical plans of the governing Magisterium. The first installment, "Compass," focuses more on Asriel's ward Lyra (newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), but Craig's screen time would significantly increase if the next two installments are made, and he admits the opportunity to play out an intriguingly dramatic arc influenced his decision.

A prevailing question the cast faced this day, though, was: "If you could pick your own daemon, what would it be?" Considering Lord Asriel has arguably the coolest physical manifestation of his soul, it wasn't hard for Craig to answer.

"I think once you have a snow leopard it's hard to go back," Craig deadpans and then notes, "It's very telling what your choice would be because that's probably how you see yourself. We used to play those games when we were kids. It's usually the opposite of what it should be. Any animal has virtues. Even a cockroach has virtues."

January will find the extremely private family man beginning production on the currently untitled 22nd Bond flick. Marc Forster, the film's director, was a somewhat unconventional choice, but Craig is enthusiastic about working with someone Will Ferrell recently joked was "the greatest Swiss filmmaker ever."

"If you look at 'Monster's Ball,' 'Finding Neverland' and then 'Kite Runner,' which is just stunning, it's such a diverse look at the world; I'd want us to have that. Marc is very solid. That for me is crucially important because this movie needs to jump on from 'Casino Royale' and take it somewhere else. Marc is totally inspired and is really just keen to get started."

Craig wouldn't divulge any secrets about the next Blond flick's story line, except to confirm there would be a bit more humor in it (which he is keen for) and that it takes place almost immediately after the end of "Royale." A more surprising revelation was Craig's claim that he is more worried about the reaction to his second turn as 007 than he was the first.

"The thing is the pressure is now on in a weird way," Craig says. "Beforehand I was getting so much criticism [but] we had a movie that I knew deep down, that whatever would happen, we [were going] to make a good film. That gave me [pause] not to worry about the criticism. The thing is now we've really got to turn out the goods, because if we don't then they were right. That can't happen."

"The Golden Compass" opens nationwide Dec. 7.

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