ThoughSpectremay not have been the massive critical and financial home run thatSkyfallwas, the fact of the matter is that the film was still very financially successful and Sony and MGM appear to really wantDaniel Craigback for at least one more James Bond adventure. However,Craigappeared to be very worn out on the role during the press tour forSpectre, and there were a lot of indications he was totally done with the role. Today, a new report from BBC News gives fans hope thatCraigmay still come back forJames Bond 25.
According to a report by the BBC, “authoritative Bond sources” have confirmed thatCraighas not made a firm decision about his future with the franchise yet and that “no decision is likely to be made for a while.” Though that means both the studio and fans may have to just be patient, it does put some ease to other conflicting recent reports that suggestedCraigwas definitely done. A report by the Daily Mail from earilier today suggested thatCraigturned down an offer for nearly $100 million dollars for two more films, which would be more than he has made for his four previous films combined. That report surfaced just before the BBC report, so it is still a little murky in terms of trying to figure out exactly what is going on. One Hollywood insider seems to think that it is pretty cut and dry though.
“Daniel is done, pure and simple. He told top brass at MGM after Spectre. They threw huge amounts of money at him, but it just wasn’t what he wanted. He had told people after shooting that this would be his final outing, but the film company still felt he could come around after Spectre if he was offered a money deal.”
This isn’t the first shake up thatJames Bondfans have been privy to in the last week or so, as bookies recently stopped taking bets on who would play Bond next because the odds more than doubled forThorstarTom Hiddlestonto be next in line to play 007. The actor was seen meeting withSkyfalldirector Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli, but that could have been for a separate roll in the next installment or as a backup plan in caseCraigdoes decide to call it quits with MI6. Even ifCraighasn’t made his decision yet, it is clear that there is a lot going on behind the scenes and it may take some time for us to figure out exactly what that is.
Prior to Craig taking over as007in 2006 with the very successfulCasino Royale, which is considered by many to be one of the if not the best film the franchise has produced to date, the James Bond series was in a very bad place.Die Another Day, the fourth and final of thePierce Brosnanera, was critically lamented and is still considered to be one of the franchise’s lowest points and ultimately led toBrosnanhaving to move on even though he had desires to continue. However, even at its lowest point withQuantum of Solace, theCraigera of Bond has been incredibly well received and has helped to reinvigorate MGM, having grossed nearly $3 billion in total, so it would make sense that the studio would do anything they could to keep him on board.
Spectreleft off in a place that leaves a lot of story to be told forCraig’s Bond andChristoph Waltzis willing to return asBlofeld, but only ifCraigcomes back as well, so there is a lot of outside desire to see the series in its current iteration continue.Craighad to deal with a serious knee injury while filmingSpectreand the fact that the film wasn’t quite as successful asSkyfallmay not have helped to keep him interested. It is also important to note that MGM told investors that they are working on a three or four year timeline between installments, so the next Bond film wouldn’t be set for a release until late 2018 at the earliest. Do you want to seeDaniel Craigcome back for more Bond films or do you think it is time to move on?
