Daniel Craig's future as James Bond in question after he is linked to TV series

Updated

Daniel Craig's future as James Bond could be in jeopardy as he enters into talks to star in a new US television series.

It is reported that Craig will take the lead in Purity, an adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's novel, although it is understood no firm decision has been made on whether he will quit as 007.

A straight to series order of 20 episodes is expected for Purity, which is likely to place considerable time constraints on the 47-year-old.

Craig has helmed the franchise for 10 years since 2006's Casino Royale and made no secret in the past of his desire to quit Bond, telling Time Out magazine in October that he would rather "slash my wrists" than play the role again.

Last year he starred as the suave spy for the fourth time in Spectre, which became the second highest-grossing film at the UK box office in 2015 after Star Wars, pulling in £94.74m.

Spectre's director Sam Mendes has already confirmed that he will not return for the next film, which will be the 25th in the series.

Purity is set to be produced by Scott Rudin - who worked with Craig on 2011's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - and is currently caught in a bidding war between Showtime, Netflix, Amazon and FX among others.

He is expected to play Andreas Wolf, the German founder of a WikiLeaks-style website, who promises to help a US woman named Purity find her father.

Craig is already pursuing other opportunities outside of Bond, including an off-Broadway run as Iago in Othello opposite David Oyelowo this autumn.

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