Even before Daniel Craig took his final bow as James Bond in 2021’s “No Time to Die,” rumors have been swirling about which actor will step into the Oxfords of the world’s most famous secret agent. But despite recent reports that MCU veteran Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been tapped for the role, casting is still very much unconfirmed.
Here’s everything we know about the Bond franchise, including the potential secret identity of the next 007. Check back for updates as news develops.
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The iconic MI6 agent began life on the page in Ian Fleming’s 1953 bestseller “Casino Royale,” the first of 14 Bond novels by the author. Other writers went on to publish subsequent books in the series—most recently, Charlie Higson’s “On His Majesty’s Secret Service,” which is set to come out in May 2024.
Producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman acquired the film rights to Fleming’s series in 1961. Under their Eon Productions banner, they released the first Bond movie, “Dr. No,” in 1962, directed by Terence Young and Sean Connery starring. The rest is cinema history.
The franchise has turned out 25 films to date (plus 1967’s “Casino Royale,” which wasn’t produced by Eon). Fleming’s books have also been adapted into other mediums, including comic strips, comic books, television shows, and video games. The latest game, “Project 007,” is currently being developed by IO Interactive, the studio behind the popular “Hitman” franchise.
To date, seven men have portrayed Britain’s greatest spy:
- Sean Connery (“Dr. No,” “From Russia With Love,” “Goldfinger,” “Thunderball,” “You Only Live Twice,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Never Say Never Again”)
- David Niven (“Casino Royale”)
- George Lazenby (“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”)
- Roger Moore (“Live and Let Die,” “The Man With the Golden Gun,” “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “Moonraker,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “Octopussy,” “A View to Kill”)
- Timothy Dalton (“The Living Daylights,” “Licence to Kill”)
- Pierce Brosnan (“GoldenEye,” “Tomorrow Never Dies,” “The World Is Not Enough,” “Die Another Day”)
- Daniel Craig (“Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall,” “Spectre,” “No Time to Die”)
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Craig ended his 15-year, five-film run with Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “No Time to Die” in 2021. He then immediately hopped to another franchise, starring as country-fried private investigator Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” series.
The latest actor to be rumored as the next 007 is “Kraven the Hunter” star Taylor-Johnson. According to the Sun, an inside source said "Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it. The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back." At the time (March 2024), the report expected Eon to announce Taylor-Johnson as the next Bond "in the coming days."
That news has yet to materialize, and Taylor-Johnson downplayed the idea in a recent Rolling Stone profile. His wife, “Nowhere Boy” director Sam Taylor-Johnson, joked about her interest in her husband securing the gig for her own reasons. “You mean that I might direct a Bond film? The first woman director?” she joked on a recent episode of “The Jonathan Ross Show,” adding, “Carry on speculating. He’d be great.”
Taylor-Johnson even got the seal of approval from former Bond portrayer Pierce Brosnan, his co-star from 2009’s “The Greatest.”
“I think the man has the chops, the talent, and the charisma to play Bond, very much so,” Brosnan said on “The Ray D’Arcy Show." “I read the news about his possibilities of being a Bond, so I would definitely tip my hat to the fellow.”
However, Brosnan hasn’t reserved his praise for Taylor-Johnson alone. Responding to rumors that “Oppenheimer” Oscar winner Cillian Murphy is on the shortlist for the part, Brosnan told the BBC that he believed his fellow Irishman “would do a magnificent job as James Bond on His Majesty’s Secret Service.”
Gossip around who will succeed Craig has been swirling for years. Fans’ latest guesses include “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” star Dan Stevens (who discussed the persistent rumors on a recent episode of In the Envelope); “Bridgerton” breakout Regé-Jean Page; and “Game of Thrones” star Richard Madden. Other potential contenders include Lucien Laviscount, Henry Golding, Aidan Turner, Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill (who previously auditioned for the role), Tom Hardy, and many others.
According to Variety, Cavill discussed his casting chances during an April 2024 appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show."
“I have no idea. All I have to go off of is the rumors. I have the same information you have,” he said on the radio show. “Maybe I’m too old now, or maybe I’m not. We’ll see what the [producers’] plans are.”
Another name that’s come up often over the years is Idris Elba. But despite fans’ long-held desire to see the “Luther” star take on 007, the actor expressed his disinterest in the role in a 2017 interview with the New York Times. “It’s interesting that the James Bond thing continues to go [on]. I think it’s more about: ‘We just want to have a Black guy play James Bond,’ rather than ‘Idris Elba, the actor, play James Bond,’ ” he said. “That’s the part [where] I’m like, Ugh, come on.”
That said, no one has ever said that the role can’t go to a woman. Lashana Lynch, who took over the 007 code name in “No Time To Die,” tops the shortlist of female actors who could potentially take over the franchise; other possible lady Bonds include T’nia Miller, Lydia West, Suranne Jones, Emilia Clarke, Emily Blunt, and Karen Gillan.
Considering no actor has been tapped to play him, it’s still too early for 007 to start calling for backup. But be sure to keep up with casting director Debbie McWilliams, who’s been the franchise’s primary CD since 1995’s “GoldenEye” (Brosnan’s first Bond film, and the first produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson).
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