Sony Pictures Entertainment, which distributes the films in partnership with MGM, declined to comment, but sources close to the situation did not deny that Craig, who has hinted at extreme Bond fatigue, was stepping away for real.
The Daily Mail said producers offered Craig in the neighborhood of $100 million for two more films, which would be roughly twice what he made for the first four, but that Craig's chronic knee pain, stemming from an injury while filming a Spectre fight scene, was the final straw.
Craig's four turns as Bond — last year's Spectre being his finale — was enough to tie Pierce Brosnan, but falls short of Roger Moore and Sean Connery, who each strapped on the tux and gadgets seven times.
Now the search begins for a new Bond, with reports surfacing last week that Tom Hiddleston's stock was so high, British betting houses (which, frankly, will take bets on anything) were no longer accepting wagers for the 35-year-old from Westminster.
