Craig: Bard leads back to Bond

IN a Shakespearean twist, a hot theater production of “Othello” could be the ticket that finally convinces fickle star Daniel Craig to sign on to another James Bond blockbuster.

Craig opens in “Othello” on Monday at the New York Theatre Workshop opposite “Selma” star David Oyelowo, and the production sold out in just hours back in October. But looking closer at the credits, the show’s producer is Barbara Broccoli, scion of the 007 franchise who brought in Craig in 2006 for the string of hits “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall” and “Spectre.”

But curmudgeonly Craig has publicly itched to exit the films, sniping in October 2015 that he’d rather “slash [his]wrists” than revisit the role. “I’m over it at the moment . . . All I want to do is move on,” he huffed. Of others who might take over, he charmingly added, “Look, I don’t give af - - k.”

A week later it was announced Craig was cast with Oyelowo in “Othello.” This year, as “Othello” approached, Craig changed his tune and said in October of playing Bond: “I would miss it terribly.” (He’s also allegedly been offered $150 million for two movies, which can’t hurt.)

Either way, a source told Page Six of “Othello” and Bond, “Daniel thinks of himself as a ‘serious actor,’ and he wants to stretch his artistic muscles. And Barbara really believes in his talent. For her to do this [play] for him is a gift — of course she wants him back — this is going to entice him to make another Bond movie.” The insider said Broccoli would ask Craig back for the next 007 film, “Bond 25,” sometime after the play’s run. Other insiders add that Craig is amenable to a return to Bond after a hiatus of a few years when he’ll tackle “more serious roles.”

Of the heated speculation over actors who could take over the role — from Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston to Michael Fassbender and Jack Huston — a source said, “All those people are not in the running.”

Making “Othello” has been a shrewd business decision for Broccoli. “It’s a limited run,” the source said. “She’s not doing this to lose money.”