Gentlemen, rev your Aston Martins and start shaking those martinis, because a new James Bond is on the horizon. Menthol smoke has not yet started billowing out of MGM Studios – the traditional indication that the next 007 has been chosen – but the chatter suggests Daniel Craig’s replacement has been selected and a confirmation is imminent.
What does this mean for the future of the iconic British spy series and its upcoming 26th instalment? Information is limited, but here’s what we know so far.
When will the next James Bond be announced?
With Bond 26 not expected on our cinema screens until 2025 at the earliest, the film remains firmly in the pre-pre-production phase. ‘We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through,’ said EON producer Barbara Broccoli in June 2022. ‘There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.’
Co-producer Michael G Wilson has also stressed that Bond 26 will be a hard reset for the franchise and for Bond himself. Don’t expect any youngsters in the running was the gist of his comments in 2022.
‘We’ve tried looking at younger people in the past,’ he told Deadline. ‘But trying to visualise it doesn’t work. Remember, Bond’s already a veteran. He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something. He isn’t some kid out of high school that you can bring in and start off. That’s why it works for a thirtysomething.’
At some point in the not-too-distance future, white smoke will come billowing out of EON’s metaphorical chimney and the identity of the new 007 will be revealed. Until that time comes, there’s a tonne of fun to be had in speculating who will commit near-on a decade to playing MI6’s finest.
So, who might be 007 after Daniel Craig?
1. Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Age: 33
Odds: 2/1
The floppy-haired MCU alum has been considered the frontrunner for the gig for the last year, over some of the more recognisable faces below, and now The Sun has claims that an offer is on the table.
If the name is unfamiliar – or if you’re confused why they cast the woman from The Queen’s Gambit – that’s probably because the High Wycombe native has spent the past decade in supporting roles, most recently squaring off against Brad Pitt in the frenetic actioner Bullet Train and most notably as Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. But he isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere: after breaking out portraying a young John Lennon in the biopic Nowhere Boy and co-starring in the superhero satire Kick Ass, Johnson won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for his role in the Tom Ford thriller Nocturnal Animals.
Despite Michael G Wilson’s previous comments, Johnson would be among the younger actors to step into Bond’s loafers – third youngest behind George Lazenby and Sean Connery, who was 32 in the franchise’s inaugural Dr No. Still, it’s not hard to see the fit: he’s got the brooding good looks and lithe physicality needed to succeed Daniel Craig – if you need proof of the latter, check out his slick moves in this late period REM video.
‘He is the perfect person to play Bond,’ says one of The Sun’s sources, ‘and will pick up well from where Daniel left off.’
If the rumours turn out to be true, it’s rough timing for his wife, Nowhere Boy director Sam Taylor-Wood, who’s likely to be hounded with questions about his casting while promoting her Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black.
2. Henry Cavill
Age: 40
Odds: 5/2
Hot on his heels is the ex-Man of Steel, Henry Cavill. The Londoner’s recent conscious uncoupling from Superman and the DC universe – and to lesser extent, his departure from Netflix’s smash hit series The Witcher – suddenly leaves space on his schedule for the kind of heavy-lifting (and publicity duties) demanded by playing Ian Fleming’s legendary spy.
Sure enough, bookies have Cavill at 5/2 second favourite to put those reloadable arms into service for King and Country.
3. Regé-Jean Page
Age: 35
Odds: 11/2
If EON wanted to immediately convert an army of Bridgerton fans to the charms of the James Bond franchise, it would immediately cast one-time Ton heartthrob Regé-Jean Page.
And aside from the seismic impact of casting an actor of colour as James Bond, Page is a fast-rising performer whose magnetism will be on show on the big screen this summer in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves alongside Star Trek’s Chris Pine. Will that represent James Bond and James Kirk sharing a screen? Bookies have him at 11/2 for the Bond role.
4. James Norton
Age: 38
Current odds: 7/1
If he gets the role, the magnificently-haired Londoner would represent the most luxuriantly-maned Bond since Brosnan. And the rumour mill has had him firmly in the running since McMafia and War and Peace first introduced the UK’s living rooms to him. Most of his best work so far has been on the stage or small screen – he’s currently playing a proper wrong’un in the BBC’s crime series Happy Valley – although he put in an eye-catching performance in 2020’s Stalin-era journalism drama Mr Jones.
5. Tom Hardy
Age: 46
Current odds: 7/1
The Venom and Peaky Blinders star has been linked with the role since long before it was actually available. But at 45, he doesn’t seem to fit the profile Michael G Wilson has set out of a ‘thirtysomething’ actor. Then again, a conversation around the new Bond can hardly not involve Hardy’s name. He helped turbo-charge Mad Max: Fury Road, despite having about seven words to say, and his suave spy in Inception was a stellar 007 audition. If EON is looking for a beefy badass with soulful vibes and serious acting craft, Hardy could be the guy. He might insist on wearing a mask, though.
6. Chiwetel Ejiofor
Age: 46
Odds: 9/1
Back in 2014, there were strong rumours that 12 Years a Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor would be playing a Bond villain in Spectre. That never came to pass, theoretically leaving the Londoner in the shake-up to play 007. Naomie Harris is in favour – and no Bond ever got anywhere without Moneypenny on board – but his age would seem to count against him.
7. Dan Stevens
Age: 41
Odds: 14/1
Suave, charming and a big cricket lover, Dan Stevens seems like the kind of James Bond that Ian Fleming might have cast. Scratch a bit deeper, though, and there’s a darker edge to the one-time Downton Abbey actor. Check out 2014’s terrific neon-tinged action-thriller The Guest if you have any doubts he could do all the nastier stuff Bond gets up to between saving his country and annoying M.
9. Idris Elba
Age: 51
Odds: 16/1
It’s not going to be Idris. We should all probably stop asking him about it now.
9. Aidan Turner
Age: 39
Odds: 20/1
One-time Poldark saucepot Aidan Turner would be the second Irishman to play 007 if he landed the gig. And like Pierce Brosnan, he packs a tonne of charm under a self-contained exterior. Will his relative lack of big-screen experience rule him out?
No Time to Die explained: All your James Bond plot questions answered.