When Daniel Craig told Time Out that he’d rather slit his wrists than play James Bond again, it was just about time for the producers to start sending out casting calls. But apparently they’ve managed to seduce Craig back to the dark side so he can resolve the cliff-hanger left behind by his last entry in the franchise, “Spectre,” which wasn’t great and ruined his previous effort, “Skyfall,” which was easily one of the greatest Bond films ever made.
But it will only be for ‘one more Bond movie’
The new Film, tentatively titled “James Bond 25” (25, can you believe it?), was expected to see another actor take on the iconic role of secret agent 007, but Craig has reportedly been wooed.
The New York Post (well, its gossip section Page Six) cites a number of sources in its claims that James Bond series producer Barbara Broccoli has “just about persuaded” Craig to return to the franchise for just “one more Bond movie.”
Broccoli may or may not have used the time she spent working on her recent off-Broadway production of “Othello” to convince Craig (who has taken the role of Iago in the classic Shakespearean play) to come back to the James Bond franchise, where the big bucks are. One source told Page Six that the pair’s negotiations are “going in the right direction.” The source also claims that a script from regular Bond writing duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade that they’re ready to roll on “as soon as Daniel is ready to commit.”
Craig seemed open to it in a more recent interview
A few months after the controversial wrist-slashing remarks, Craig said in another interview (that sounded an awful lot like what a PR rep told him to say) that he has “the best job in the world,” which he would continue to do “as long as I still get a kick out of it,” and that he would “miss it terribly” if he stopped making Bond films.
Apparently Broccoli didn’t like “Kong: Skull Island” star Tom Hiddleston for the part of Bond. He’s been long rumoured as Craig’s replacement, but according to this source, she thinks he’s “a bit too smug” and “not tough enough” for the martini-swilling, torture-withstanding international spy. A director has yet to be set (please, God, not Sam Mendes again), but the word on the grapevine has Susanne Bier, who helmed Hiddleston’s very James Bond-y TV miniseries “The Night Manager,” is at the top of the shortlist.
