Daniel Craig Told To ‘Shut Up’ By His Bosses

In a new turn of events in the Craig-Bond scandal, Daniel Craig was told to “shut up” by the higher ups in the Bond franchise. This is one of the many comments that have surfaced after Craig reported half jokingly that he would rather “slash his wrists” than make another Bond film.

Apparently, his statements came from one of the roughest shoots in Bond history, insiders told the New York Post‘s Page Six. Most notably, one insider reported the following.

“They had problems initially with the script, Craig was injured on the set and needed knee surgery, and they were still doing re-shoots last month, even though the movie is out in weeks. It was a very difficult shoot, to say the least.”

It may be true that Bond had a very difficult time on the set, but many believe that he was a little harsh in stating that he never wants to do a Bond movie again. Grey’s Anatomy‘s Ellen Pompeo weighed in, stating, “The dude needs a reality check.”

Craig has been particularly blessed with his role as the iconic Bond character. He’s made millions off of his stint in the franchise, not to mention lifetime world fame. For Skyfall alone, Craig was paid $10.7 million, making him the highest-paid Bond actor in history. It’s also been reported that he will be paid £31 million combined for both Spectre and the next film he’s contracted to do, Bond 25. Most actors would be thrilled to be playing such a high profile role, but Craig says he’s had it.

Another Bond insider reported as follows.

“Craig is pretentious and thinks he’s better than Bond, that it doesn’t give him the creative range he needs. Plus he hasn’t had a big hit movie outside of the franchise, and he blames that on Bond.”

Craig’s rumored concern that he won’t be able to get another “big hit” role is valid, if history is any indication. Many actors who have found themselves playing one character for too long must go through a long and arduous process in order to get scripted in another film.

However, hundreds of actors do it all the time. Consider Robert Downey Jr., who is noted for his part as Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, but he has also played in a slough of other movies as well, most recently The Judge, which also starred Robert Duvall and Vera Farmiga.

Though Craig has confirmed to the Daily Mail in the past that he’s contracted for one more film as James Bond, the announced, but not written, Bond 25, in later interviews with media everywhere, he hinted that the contract might not be set in stone.

When asked by Esquire magazine if he had plans to reprise his role in the next film, he stated, ” At this moment, no. I have a life and I’ve got to get on with it a bit. But we’ll see.”

People are already speculated on Bond’s replacement. Tom Hiddleston is always a favorite, but fans are concerned he might be too skinny. Richard Madden, Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy’s names have also been brought up.

There has also been speculation about whether or not there will ever be a black James Bond. If the studios would ever consider it, Idris Elba, known for his role as Heimdall in Thor and the Marvel universe, would be the fan favorite.

When asked who he would like to replace him, Craig stated in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t care less.

“Good luck to them,” he said. “All I care about is that if I stop doing these things we’ve left it in a good place and people pick it up and make it better.”

[Photo by Greg Williams / Getty Images]