Daniel Craig will return as James Bond after producers decided Tom Hiddleston was not ‘tough enough’ to be 007.
There had been doubts if the Chester-born actor would come back for a fifth Bond film.
But he has been convinced to don the British spy’s tuxedo one more time, the Mirror reports .
The 49-year-old has been working with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli on the hit off-Broadway production of ‘Othello’.
The Night Manager star Hiddleston had been picked out as a potential successor to Craig.
According to US reports, his fate was supposedly sealed after his relationship with Taylor Swift which Broccoli reportedly felt was not fit for Bond.
She is also said to have objected to Hiddleston’s speech at the Golden Globes which came across as self-congratulatory and insensitive towards South Sudan - he later apologised.
A source told the New York Post: “Daniel was very pleased with how ‘Othello’ went and the great reviews. Now Daniel’s talks with Barbara are going in the right direction.
“They have a script - screenwriting duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who have penned several Bond movies, are writing and they’ll go into production as soon as Daniel is ready to commit.”
The source added: “Plus, Barbara Broccoli doesn’t like Tom Hiddleston, he’s a bit too smug and not tough enough to play James Bond.”
Craig is currently the second-longest serving Bond in history having officially starred as the spy for over 11 years.
Sir Roger Moore is the longest serving 007 spending 12 years in the role and starring in seven films, including ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, ‘Live and Let Die’ and ‘A View To A Kill’.
Back in 2015 after ‘Spectre’ had hit the big screen Craig admitted he’d “rather slash” his wrists than step back into the role due to the fatigue he felt from the shooting process.
But in 2016 he described Bond as the best job in the world sparking hopes for MGM that Craig would return for a fifth film.
Speaking at the New Yorker Festival, he said: “I’ve got the best job in the world doing Bond. The things I get to do on a Bond movie and the type of work it is, there’s no other job like it. If I were to stop doing it - just say - I’d miss it terribly.
“It’s one of the most thrilling things as an actor you can do. I love this job. I get a massive kick out of it. And, if I can keep getting a kick out of it, I will.”
