Daniel Craig has reportedly turned down nearly $100 million US to continue to portray everyone’s favourite super spy James Bond.
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, Craig was offered £68 million (roughly $99 million US) to play the iconic spy for two more films in the franchise, with the actor noting previously that he’d rather slash his wrists than play the character again. An unnamed source in Los Angeles said, “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.”
In addition to the sum of money, Craig would also be given a co-producer credit, endorsements, as well as a profit-sharing program which would likely increase his salary for the films considerably.
It is a huge sum of money for the actor who had been paid about £38 million ($55 million US) for the previous four films, making this offer a 350% increase in salary.
This isn’t the first time Craig has said he’d step back from the Bond series, taking a four-year break between 2008’s Quantum of Solace and 2012’s Skyfall. There was also a three-year hiatus until last year’s Spectre, which was the poorest rated of Craig’s Bond films according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Do you think Daniel Craig will change his mind in the future? Or is it time for Idris Elba or Tom Hiddleston to step in as Britain’s spy with a license to kill? Let us know in the comments!