Does The Proper Particular person Exist Out There To Play The New James Bond?

• With Daniel Craig stepping away and Amazon MGM Studios taking on the franchise, discovering a brand new James Bond is essential to the sequence’ success.
• Amazon supposedly has a want checklist of actors, whereas different names have additionally been cropping up – typically for years.
• Solely six actors have formally performed Bond in additional than 60 years.

Who ought to be the subsequent actor to don the mantle of James Bond, agent 007 of the British Secret Service? That query has vexed filmmakers for the reason that franchise first launched in 1962, when then-superstars like Cary Grant and Richard Burton have been bypassed in favor of a little-known Scottish actor named Sean Connery. Within the 60-plus years since ‘Dr. No’ launched Bond to audiences, six actors (seven, in the event you embody David Niven within the non-canonical 1967 Bond spoof, ‘On line casino Royale’) have worn the tuxedo, with a mixture of established stars and relative unknowns taking over the position for stints various from one movie (George Lazenby) to seven (Roger Moore).

“Now meet essentially the most extraordinary gentleman spy in all fiction!”

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PG1 hr 50 minCould twenty ninth, 1963

Some Bonds, in fact, have been extra profitable than others, however the venerable franchise faces a problem on two fronts now: first, the property has modified arms for the primary time in a long time, with the Broccoli household’s Eon Productions – which has been behind each Bond movie up to now – ceding management to Amazon MGM Studios. Second, the subsequent Bond actor will observe the five-film run of Daniel Craig, which yielded one of many franchise’s all-time greatest movies (2006’s ‘On line casino Royale’) in addition to its highest-grossing (2012’s billion-earning ‘Skyfall’).

However there’s extra to it than that. The following Bond, whoever he’s – and every kind of potential names have been circulating for years – has to search out simply the proper stability of qualities. He ought to be younger sufficient (early 30s) to have cross-generational enchantment, however not too younger that he appears to lack expertise; he ought to be as fast together with his gun as he’s with a quip or double-entendre; he must painting each the ruthless brutality of a top-notch murderer and the vulnerability of a lonely, haunted man; and he should be each bodily imposing and sexually alluring.

Associated Article: Why Denis Villeneuve Is A Stable Selection To Direct The New Bond Film

Not such a tall order, proper? There’s no query that director Denis Villeneuve and producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman have their work minimize out for them. So let’s take a fast scan of the names which might be on the market now – and analyze whether or not any of them are destined to turn into the subsequent James Bond.

The Grizzled Veterans

Henry Cavill at The 88th Oscars® on the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Credit score/Supplier: Aaron Poole / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: Scott Diussa.

Let’s begin with the actors who will not be Bond. The irony is that every one of them have been mooted for the position at one level or one other, however time has frankly handed them by. That quick checklist contains Henry Cavill, a fan favourite who auditioned for the position at age 22 however misplaced to Daniel Craig. At 42, he’s the identical age as Pierce Brosnan when the latter bought the half, and three years youthful than Roger Moore. However Cavill can be far too recognizable from taking part in Superman within the DC Prolonged Universe and the title position in ‘The Witcher’ TV sequence.

Additionally, outdoors of his stints as Kal-El, Cavill will not be a field workplace draw. That in itself means nothing, particularly if the producers go together with a smaller identify – however Cavill has been on screens lengthy sufficient to show that he lacks a sure high quality that audiences flock to see.

Tom Hardy, likewise, has been in hits corresponding to ‘The Darkish Knight Rises’ and the ‘Venom’ trilogy, however has had an erratic field workplace run outdoors of these. At age 47, he’s additionally just about aged out of the position already. The identical goes for 52-year-old Idris Elba, a well-liked selection for a very long time who was reportedly reluctant to think about the position as a result of he frightened whether or not audiences would settle for a Bond of coloration. Of the three, he in all probability would have been essentially the most formidable selection.

The Amazon MGM Record

Tom Holland arrives on the purple carpet of The ninetieth Oscars® on the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit score/Supplier: Paul Hebert / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.

Selection reported in June 2025 than Amazon MGM was keen on casting an actor underneath 30 as Bond. The studio’s want checklist featured three actors: Tom Holland, Harris Dickinson, and Jacob Elordi — all decent-to-good actors nonetheless exploring their potential, however not essentially in a position to nail the position of Bond.

Let’s dismiss Holland proper off the bat. Truthful or not, he’s a comparatively small fellow with a child face that may merely not go well with Bond. Not solely that, his international fame all stems from his portrayal of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in six Marvel movies, with no less than two extra to go. Holland is just too youthful and too related to the web-slinger to step into 007’s sneakers.

At 28, the Australian Elordi (the individual taking part in Bond, by the best way, will be British, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or Australian – however not American) might be one of the best all-around actor and will have simply sufficient gravitas (and peak) to evolve with the position. Dickinson, in the meantime, confirmed psychological and sexual depth in ‘Babygirl’ and a tough physicality in ‘The Iron Claw,’ however like many of the actors connected to the position, would nonetheless should bulk his slender body up a bit.

The Remainder of the U.Ok. Contingent

Aaron Taylor-Johnson attends the Academy’s eighth Annual Governors Awards in The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Heart® in Hollywood, CA, on Saturday, November 12, 2016. Credit score/Supplier: Aaron Poole / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

While you get previous names like Holland, Cavill, and Elordi, there’s a complete crop of comparatively younger U.Ok. actors who, for essentially the most half, are comparatively obscure outdoors their dwelling turf even when they’ve completed some film and TV work in Hollywood. Main that pack is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who’s been bandied about as a frontrunner for 007 for the previous couple of years however stays pretty low-key with the general public regardless of roles in high-profile movies like ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘28 Years Later.’ Taylor-Johnson is an effective actor, however he’s lacking one thing – a sure magnetism – that makes us reluctant to think about him for Bond.

Theo James is one other British actor who has scored some spectacular credentials – most lately, he starred within the TV model of ‘The Gents,’ Season 2 of ‘The White Lotus’ and the Stephen King movie ‘The Monkey’ – however at 40 could also be on the tipping level to play 007. Will Poulter, in the meantime, has proven bodily prowess within the current ‘Warfare’ and as Adam Warlock in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ and will be fairly menacing (he’s scary as a sadistic cop in ‘Detroit’), however might lack the sexual spark crucial to draw feminine audiences.

Jack Lowden in ‘Gradual Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.

One attention-grabbing candidate whose identify has surfaced repeatedly is Scottish thespian Jack Lowden – at 35, he’s the proper age, he has rugged attractiveness together with expertise in bodily motion roles, and his resume (which additionally contains intensive stage work) ranges from high-level productions just like the BBC’s 2016 model of ‘Warfare and Peace’ to the acclaimed Apple TV+ sequence ‘Gradual Horses,’ during which he performs – in an eerie coincidence – an MI5 agent.

Different U.Ok. actors whose names have been linked to the position at one level or one other embody Paul Mescal (‘Gladiator II’), Josh O’Connor (‘Challengers’), James Norton (‘The Nevers’), Callum Turner (‘Masters of the Air’), Regé-Jean Web page (‘Bridgerton’), Damson Idris (‘F1’), Richard Madden (‘Eternals’), Sam Heughan (‘Outlander’), and Dev Patel (‘Monkey Man’).

Do any of those – and even the opposite candidates above – scream ‘James Bond’ at us? Not essentially. However actors are able to reworking themselves in ways in which we atypical people can’t typically think about, and one of many above – if not somebody but unrevealed to us – will definitely emerge from that course of as the subsequent Bond…James Bond.

Sean Connery as James Bond in 1964’s ‘Goldfinger’. Picture: United Artists.

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