The star’s constant prevaricating about whether he would even make the movie certainly kept fans nerves shredded.
It also seems to have had a rather more healthy effect on Craig’s bank balance.
According to Variety, the actor will be getting a mammoth basic pay package which propels him beyond stars like Dwayne Johnson, Robert Downey Jr and Tom Cruise.
Bond 25 still doesn’t even have a release date (or even year) or a confirmed filming schedule, but it appears Craig has locked in an incredible pay-out to guarantee his return one last time.
Not only was Craig seen to be playing hardball, the latest news that he is expecting his first child with wife Rachel Weisz means he would have likely have needed an even greater incentive to commit to such a punishing shooting and promotional schedule.
According to Variety, Craig will pocket a cool $ 25million for the 25th movie in the main franchise.
This puts him comfotably ahead of Johnson’s $ 22million for for 2020’s Red Notice or Vin Disel’s $ 20million for last year’s Fate of the Furious.
It has also been reported that Craig will also take a cut of the film’s profits, with one estimate boldly claiming he could bank as much as $ 100million overall.
Taking a percentage of profits is an established practice now for stars who have particular leverage over projects which are built around them.
A new development reported by Variety, however, is the demand from Johnson for a $ 1million social media fee.
That’s how much the industry bible has reported the star is demanding for promoting Red Notice to his 104million Instagram followers.
It’s unlikely the rather less chatty and outgoing Craig will be trying anything similar.
