Caveat Emptor: Tabloid says Craig returned to set 007 record

Eon boss Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig is returning to play James Bond in part to set the record as the longest-serving 007 in the Eon Productions series, the New York Daily News said.

Here’s an excerpt:

Daniel Craig was lured back to play James Bond one more time by the promise he’d “make history,” according to a source close to the 49-year-old actor’s return.

“MGM and (Craig) had not spoken for over a year,” according to an insider who tells us that executive producer Barbara Broccoli worked her magic.

“Daniel said he was done, he meant it,” we’re told. “She said he wasn’t, she meant it.”

Bond 25 currently has a November 2019 U.S. release date, although no distributor has been announced.

“We’re told that the next Bond film’s 2019 release date means that Craig will have owned the role for 13 years, which is one year longer then Roger Moore, the current record-holder, played 007,” the Daily News said.

One note. Barbara Broccoli, the boss of Eon Productions, has the title of producer, not executive producer, in Bond films. In movies, executive producer is a secondary title to producer. In television, executive producer is the highest-ranking producer title.

As for the rest? The truth isn’t knowable at this point. Hence the Caveat Emptor label here.

Moore did seven Bond films that were released from 1973 until 1985. The longest gap was two-and-a-half years (December 1974 to July 1977). With Bond 25, Craig will have done five from 2006 to 2019. There will have been two four-year gaps (2008 to 2012 and 2015 to 2019).

Sean Connery, the first film Bond, did a total of seven — six for Eon and the non-Eon movie Never Say Never Again.

UPDATE (2:35 p.m.): While it’s hard to evaluate the accuracy of the Daily News, here’s something to remember. In late 2011, Eon’s Michael G. Wilson said he wanted to see Craig do a total of eight 007 films and surpass Roger Moore’s total. (Wilson didn’t reference Connery’s seven.)