Daniel Craig turns down £68m to play Bond, telling producers “he’s done”

"Skyfall?"

"Done"

Evoking the famous scene in which Daniel Craig’s James Bond stares into a blank abyss at the mention of the film’s title, giving a grouchy reply and flouncing off, according to the Daily Mail, the cragged star has turned down a £68m offer to play the super spy in two more films, telling bosses once again that he’s "done".

“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”, says the paper’s source.

The news doesn't come as much of a surprise, despite the vast numbers involved. With Craig already signed up to a 20 episode television adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s novel, Purity, a busy work schedule is one thing, but the actor’s recent reluctance to discussing his future as Bond is another...

Nobody has, ahem, done it better in terms of fuelling rumours of a departure than Craig himself, who, during promotion for the last film, famously said he’d rather slice his own wrists than play 007 again. Even his old pal Mark Strong told yours truly that Craig’s all but hung up his holster, leaving the M16 door open for another actor to fill the void…

Which appears more and more likely to be Mr Tom Hiddleston.

With bets already off on Hids, whose recent role in the BBC’s The Night Manager was all but deemed an unofficial Bond audition, he’s been coy surrounding his own chances. Let's just say it looks likely.

Do you think he'd make a good replacement? Let us know below.