Since Daniel Craig died in 2021's No Time To Die , after playing the world-famous spy James Bond in five films, there have been a number of rumours about his replacement.
Rumors of a new James Bond were announced this spring, when producer Barbara Broccoli (whose father is the legendary Cubby Broccoli who first brought James Bond to the big screen) said she was looking for a younger actor to play the role in the next 10-12 years. Daniel Craig was 38 when he first played James Bond and 53 when his last film hit theaters.
Daniel Craig was 38 when he first played James Bond.
"It's a really long process. Barbara will meet every candidate herself," a casting insider told Page Six of the candidates, adding: "They all have to dress up and audition at Pinewood - The Bond UK Studios."
Names touted in recent years have included Richard Madden, Tom Hardy and Idris Elba, although the 50-year-old actor has said he will not take the role.
Leading the list now is Aaron Taylor-Johnson (32), who met Broccoli and had an acting test last September.
In fact, bookmakers say Taylor-Johnson is the favourite to win the role.
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade will write the script for the next James Bond film. The duo have written the scripts for the past James Bond films. But "there's no script and we can't think of a script until we decide how to approach the next film because, really, it's a reinvention of James Bond," Broccoli told Deadline . "We're reinventing him and that takes time. I'd say shooting is at least two years away."
In the meantime, here are the contenders in the race to become the next 007.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Handsome and funny, Taylor-Johnson is reminiscent of one of the best James Bonds of all time - the late, great Scot, Sean Connery.
Taylor-Johnson is said to have had at least two auditions for the role of James Bond.
In December 2022, it was reported that Aaron had filmed several scenes as James Bond, with the memorable "gun barrel tease" often featured in the 007 series.
Taylor-Johnson won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a smooth-talking killer in the 2016 thriller Nocturnal Animals , played the memorable Count Vronsky in 2012's Anna Karenina alongside Keira Knightley, and played Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron . Last year, Taylor-Johnson starred opposite Brad Pitt in Bullet Train .
At just 21 years old, Taylor-Johnson married director Sam Taylor-Johnson
Just 21, Taylor-Johnson married director Sam Taylor-Johnson - 23 years his senior - in 2012 and they have two daughters: Wylda Rae, Romy Hero.
James Norton
While most Americans haven't heard of James Norton, he's best known in the UK for his incredible performance as psychopathic rapist Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley , a drama that earned him a BAFTA nomination.
James Norton is famous in the UK.
The actor, who played a vicar in Grantchester , is currently starring in A Little Life, based on the best-selling novel by Hanya Yanagihara.
At 37, Norton - whose girlfriend is actress Imogen Poots - might be considered too old to take on the role of James Bond.
Henry Cavill
Known for the past decade as Superman, Henry Cavill suddenly has the chance to become James Bond.
A shockwave at Warner Bros. saw the Man of Steel star removed from the lead role in December 2022. Director and DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn announced plans for a new film focusing on a younger version of the superhero.
Argylle director Matthew Vaughn commented that playing 007 is something actor Cavill was "born to do".
Henry Cavill is very close to playing James Bond
Henry Cavill was very close to playing Bond before Daniel Craig was cast in Casino Royale in 2006.
But Cavill, now 39, is probably not upset about losing the role to Craig. "I thought going with Daniel was a great choice. I wasn't ready at the time," he admitted.
Regé-Jean Page
Famous for his sex scenes in the first season of Bridgerton , Page could make history as the first black James Bond.
"It was an honor to play James Bond," Page, 34, told Vanity Fair .
Page was an overnight success in 2020, playing the dashing Duke of Hastings in the first season of Bridgerton opposite Phoebe Dynevor. But he stunned fans when he didn't return for the second season.
Regé-Jean Page and girlfriend Emily Brown
In January 2023, it was revealed that Page was rated the most handsome man in the world based on a concept that measures facial symmetry - his so-called "golden ratio" is 93.65%, compared to Chris Hemsworth's 93.53% and Michael B. Jordan's 93.46%.
The actor's most recent role was in the film version of Dungeons & Dragons .
Page has so far been coy about being James Bond. "It's not something that's completely on my mind," he says.
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