Daniel Craig is expected to extend his stay as James Bond for two more movies, and the next film has the working title Shatterhand.
The 49-year-old star is set to make his fifth and sixth appearances as the suave spy in the forthcoming films after producer Barbara Broccoli convinced him to pull on his tuxedo twice more, and the next motion picture is thought to be called Shatterhand.
An insider said: “There was plenty of talk about who would be the next Bond but Barbara has managed to talk Daniel into two more films.
“He is loved by audiences around the world and has driven a real resurgence for the movies at the box office, so bosses knew they couldn’t lose him just yet.
“The script is nearly ready for the 25th film, provisionally titled Shatterhand and scheduled to be released in November 2019, so there is no time to waste on getting Daniel locked in.”
Talks are also taking place about the possibility of Daniel’s sixth 007 movie being a remake of the 1969 film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, in which George Lazenby portrayed the spy.
The insider added to The Sun newspaper: “But the deal is almost done and the idea of returning to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service for the 26th movie is really exciting.”
“The film sees James get married, only for his wife to be killed, so it would be an explosive way to end his reign as 007.”
Daniel’s most recent Bond outing came in 2015 movie Spectre, but he is said to have clashed with director Sam Mendes on set due to “different creative opinions”.
A source recently said: “Daniel and Sam were best buddies when they first started working together and you would constantly see them laughing and joking.
“But after filming had been going on for a while, things started to change.
“There were a few areas in which they had very different creative opinions and their friendship did become strained.
“There were jokes that you could cut the atmosphere between them with one of Bond’s knives.”
Idris Elba was among the stars linked to the 007 role, should Daniel not return, but he recently admitted his fellow actor – who starred in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre – was “clever” in holding out for a huge pay day to take on the part again.
He said: “Daniel Craig is a great Bond.
“I think honestly he and his business team are very clever, ‘No I won’t do it. $150million? Yes, I will do it.’ “
BANG Showbiz
