Bond 25: Purity won't stop Daniel Craig playing 007 again

The actor is set to film the 20-part adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's novel

(Getty Images for Sony Pictures)

It was the news that Daniel Craig was to star in 20-part television drama Purity that seemed to intensify the rumours that he was to step down as James Bond.

Previous to that, Craig - who has starred in four 007 films, the most recent outing being Spectre - told Time Out that he would rather 'slash his wrists' than don the tux on another occasion.

While Craig's publicists - quick to avert the rumours - suggested at the time that Purity would not rule him out of playing Bond in any future instalments, the CEO of US network Showtime, David Nevins, has confirmed that very notion at the Television Critics Association.

Nevins stated: "It depends when they do the next James Bond movie, but I don't think it precludes him is the answer.

"[Purity] will largely be completed during the course of 2017, depending how long they're willing to wait and shoot the next Bond. There might be some breaks somewhere, but [production] will be fairly continuous."

It has previously been confirmed that the next Bond film wouldn't be showing in cinemas until at least 2018. With Sam Mendes having jumped ship, it seems we could even be waiting until 2019 for another instalment.

Should Craig decide to step down, actors primed to take over include Tom Hiddleston, Aidan Turner and James Norton.

Purity is based on the novel by Jonathan Franzen and tells the tale of a young woman raised in unusual circumstances in North Carolina.