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The following James Bond film is within the works, however the movie’s main man has but to be forged.
Followers have sturdy opinions about who ought to proceed the 007 legacy after Daniel Craig’s profitable five-film streak because the beloved spy. Some suppose Bond’s crisp tuxedo will match Theo James finest, whereas others are rallying behind Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Henry Cavill.
In the meantime, Pierce Brosnan — who performed the fictional agent with a license to kill in 4 movies within the ’90s — is open-minded about reprising his function.
“I feel I may get away with [playing Bond]. Sure, in a pinch,” he mentioned on the At present present in April 2025. “Let’s have a look at what occurs. They know the place to search out me.”
With information of Amazon’s latest acquisition of the Bond franchise, the seek for the following titular star is heating up.
“We’re dedicated to honoring the legacy of this iconic character whereas bringing a recent, exhilarating new chapter to audiences around the globe,” the studio’s executives Courtenay Valenti and Sue Kroll mentioned at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, per Selection.
So who would be the subsequent James Bond? See all the celebrities who’ve talked about enjoying the spy, ranked so as of who we expect has the very best shot (pun supposed) on the function.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
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Aaron Taylor-Johnson grew to become a presumptive frontrunner for the franchise when, in November 2022, The Solar reported he had the function “ought to he want to settle for it.” The Nosferatu actor has been masterfully dodging questions concerning the franchise since.
On the New York Metropolis premiere of his superhero film Kraven the Hunter in December 2024, Taylor-Johnson laughed when Leisure Tonight requested about his response to followers wanting him to step into Bond’s crime-fighting footwear.
“I might say. Come see Kraven as a result of that is what out this weekend and it is not going to disappoint,” the actor coyly mentioned. “I promise you that, guys.”
Theo James
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To followers of his movies and the James Bond franchise, Theo James (whose actual identify is Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis) is a best choice for the function. To his buddies, the concept is comical.
“There is no such thing as a narrative amongst my buddies as a result of they’d say, ‘You? Are you joking?’ ” he mentioned on the Comfortable Unhappy Confused podcast in February 2025.
The actor continued, referring to his Greek heritage: “The adage was, ‘Oh, yeah. You would be the primary Bond-opolis. The Greek Bond with hummus.”
Josh O’Connor
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Josh O’Connor might have willed himself into the dialog, however hey, who’s complaining? After the web ran wild with a joke he made, the Challengers actor discovered himself having to quell the joy.
“I’ve no ideas, actually,” he advised Deadline again in January 2025. “The reality is that … I feel within the house of every week, I made a joke about, ‘Wouldn’t it’s humorous if I performed Bond?’ ”
O’Connor continued, “Then, me and Daniel [Craig] did an Actors on Actors, after which one thing else occurred, after which instantly I used to be James Bond. If I’m Bond, I don’t find out about it.”
Regé-Jean Web page
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Regé-Jean Web page’s identify received combined into the dialog after he portrayed Bridgerton‘s Duke of Hastings in 2020 and have become a family identify in a single day.
“It’s a dialog persons are having, and it’s terribly flattering that they’re having it. I go away them to it,” he mentioned to Self-importance Honest in February 2023 of the hypothesis.
Requested whether or not or not he would tackle the function, Web page responded, “I don’t know. It’s not a factor that’s totally occupying my ideas. I’ve received sufficient on my plate in the meanwhile. I fear concerning the work I’ve, not different folks’s jobs.”
Henry Cavill
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There’s technically one diploma of separation between Henry Cavill and James Bond.
In 2024’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the actor performed Gus March-Phillips, who’s extensively often known as one of many real-life inspirations for Bond.
When requested concerning the potential of being forged because the worldwide spy on The Wealthy Eisen Present in April 2024, Cavill mentioned: “I don’t know, all I’ve received to go off is the rumors. The identical info you’ve gotten. Possibly I’m too outdated now, perhaps I’m not, we’ll see.”
Joe Alwyn
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Whereas attending the 97th Academy Awards in March 2025, Joe Alywn was requested whether or not he’d contemplate taking the function.
“Who would not throw their hat within the ring? You realize?” he advised Selection.
As for a way he takes his martinis, shaken or stirred, The Brutalist actor responded, “I like each. I do, I do.”
A relatable (potential) Bond.
Paul Mescal
Phillip Faraone/Getty
When Paul Mescal first mentioned he can be open to enjoying Bond again in 2020, his star was nonetheless rising and the concept was so farfetched, it did not “look like an actual factor.”
Now, with blockbusters resembling Gladiator II and All of Us Strangers beneath his belt, his odds are nearly as good as anybody on this listing.
Richard Madden
Daniele Venturelli/Getty
Richard Madden was additionally an early contender and very similar to the opposite gents on this listing, he saved his response quick and candy when requested concerning the function at Cannes again in 2019.
“It’s extremely flattering to be concerned in that dialog in any respect,” the Recreation of Thrones alum mentioned. “But it surely’s all simply discuss and I am positive subsequent week it will likely be another person.”
Dev Patel
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Whereas followers would like to see Patel chase down dangerous guys, the Harrow native is not enthusiastic about taking over a task that hasn’t traditionally represented individuals who appear like him. As a substitute, he has expressed curiosity in creating his personal lane versus competing for the function.
Final yr, Patel launched Monkey Man, an motion thriller he co-wrote, directed and starred in. The movie was met with a lot reward, even garnering a standing ovation when it premiered at SXSW. The catalyst behind the movie was the shortage of illustration he noticed.
“I used to be so annoyed in not being represented in motion movies,” he advised the BBC Asian Community. “After I began scripting this 10 years in the past, the one roles I used to be getting supplied had been to be the comedy sidekick or to be the man who hack the mainframe for the massive, cool man.”
“I wished to broaden our horizons in order that we’re all not preventing over simply James Bond. I wished to create our personal tales,” he continued. “No, I do not wish to be James Bond, I wish to be Monkey Man.”
Idris Elba
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Maybe nobody’s identify has lasted longer on this dialog than Idris Elba. And whereas he expressed he was flattered by the truth that folks wished to see him within the function, as soon as the dialog grew to become about race, the chance soured a bit for him.
“Basically, it was an enormous praise that each nook of the world besides from some corners, which we is not going to discuss, had been actually comfortable about the concept I may very well be thought of,” mentioned whereas on the SmartLess podcast.
“Those who weren’t comfortable concerning the concept made the entire thing disgusting and off-putting, as a result of it grew to become about race. It grew to become about nonsense and I received the brunt of it.”
Pierce Brosnan
JC Olivera/Selection by way of Getty Photos
If there’s a method to make it work, Pierce Brosnan would fortunately step into 007’s footwear once more.
“I’ve heard of that,” Brosnan advised GQ of the concept he ought to return to enjoying Bond. “After all, how may I not have an interest?”
However, he continued, “It is a delicate state of affairs now. I feel it is best to let sleeping canines lie, actually … It is a quite romantic notion and concept, however I feel every part modifications, every part falls aside. I feel that it is best left to a different man, actually. Recent blood.”
Brosnan portrayed Bond in 4 motion pictures between 1995 and 2002.
Daniel Craig
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Daniel Craig performed the tremendous spy in 5 motion pictures — On line casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die — from 2006 to 2021, and that was greater than sufficient for him, as his dedication to the collection turned out to be greater than he bargained for.
“I used to be driving away from the Berlin premiere of On line casino Royale with Barbara Broccoli. I had genuinely thought I might do one Bond film, then it will be over. However by then we knew we had a success on our fingers,” he advised the U.Ok.’s The Occasions in 2022.
“I noticed the enormity of it, so I mentioned to Barbara, ‘What number of extra? Three? 4?’ She mentioned, ‘4!’ ” Craig added. “I mentioned, ‘OK. Then can I kill him off?’ She mentioned, ‘Sure.’ ”
And when it got here time to “kill him off,” the English actor had no hesitations. “I mentioned, ‘That is it. I do not wish to do any extra,'” he advised the outlet.
