Daniel Craig Reportedly Turns Down James Bond Deal
05/19/2016 09:58 am EDT
According to reports, Daniel Craig is walking away from his role as the leading man of the James Bond movie franchise.
Craig has played bond for a decade, beginning with 2006's Casino Royale and continuing through Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre.
Craig is already the highest paid actor to ever play Bond, netting £38 million (approximately $55 million) for his four films. MGM reportedly offered to nearly double that for Craig, laying £68 million (approximately $100 million) on the table if he would sign on for two more movies, but Craig was not interested.
"Daniel is done – pure and simple – he told top brass at MGM after Spectre," a source told the Daily Mail. "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."
Another source added that MGM executives finally were willing to let Craig go after growing tired of his negative attitude towards the franchise.
Craig's Bond films have helped the struggling MGM take in $2 billion at the box office, so it's understandable that the studio want to keep him onboard, but a knee injury sustained while filming Spectre seems to have been the nail in the coffin for Craig's tenure as the super spy.
"With knee problems and general exhaustion, he felt it was a journey with an ending," the source said.
MGM already delayed the production of the next Bond movie to accommodate for Craig's role in the TV adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's novel Purity. If they Daily Mail reports are true, it looks like they'll be starting from scratch with a new Bond once production gets underway.
-----
Did you see Captain America: Civil War? Want a chance to win a Hot Toys 1/6th scale Captain America figure from the movie? Head on over to the ComicBook.com Movie Database page and rate the movie to enter!
Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.