Yahoo News Who will be the next James Bond? The hunt is on for an actor who can shake and stir 007 fans
In the fall of 2019, EW was sent on a mission to watch Daniel Craig shoot an action scene for No Time to Die at U.K.'s Pinewood Studios and chat with the longtime James Bond franchise's producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Among the subjects discussed? When the pair would start thinking about who might play the world's most famous fictional spy in the next Bond adventure, Craig having made clear that his fifth outing as 007 was definitely going to be his last.
"Oh, next week," said Wilson with a laugh.
Broccoli had a more serious response.
"I'm in denial, to be honest, about Daniel," she said. "So I can't really confront that right now."
Later, watching Daniel and costar Ana de Armas pretending to shoot their way past a small army of enemy agents, you could understand why Broccoli was reluctant to accept the idea of Craig's departure from the series. At 51, the actor remained a formidable physical presence capable of undertaking complex action choreography in a manner that also made it look like his character was simultaneously seducing de Armas' spy Paloma. And what could be more Bond-like than that?
Craig also spoke, albeit obliquely, about the idea that had drawn him back to the franchise for one more film and would ensure that this really was to be his last time portraying Bond: the character's death at the end of the film. "We had an idea, I spoke to Barbara about, and she said, 'Yeah, go for it,'" recalled Craig. "We expanded that idea, and that became the plot, or at least what we were aiming for."
Broccoli and Wilson have also been granted more time to search for Craig's replacement than they could have imagined back in 2019. The start of the COVID pandemic just a couple of months before No Time to Die was due to hit screens forced the producers to postpone the release of the film, which ultimately arrived on screens in the U.S. last October. The film grossed $774 million around the world, roughly $100 million less than the amount raked in by the franchise's previous entry Spectre, but an impressive total under the circumstances. Certainly, it seemed a big enough figure to ensure the continuation of the franchise and to render the question of who will replace Craig a relevant, and to the franchise's army of fans, a hugely important one. So just who will be the next actor to be handed that license to kill?
Daniel Craig in 'No Time to Die'
There is certainly no lack of possible candidates. You could pretty much restaff the British secret service (or a Bond villain's volcano-lair) with the people who are seemingly in the frame to be cast as the new Bond. British bookmakers have offered short odds on a range of potential 007s from Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page to Venom star Tom Hardy to Superman himself Henry Cavill, who actually competed against Craig for the role back before production began on what would turn out to be the latter's first Bond movie, 2006's Casino Royale. Jack Lowden, who portrays a spy on Apple's Slow Horses, is another tipped possibility, although he believably protested that he had no news on the subject when EW spoke to him earlier in the year. "No, it's still Daniel Craig in my eyes," he said. "I think he should still be playing him, to be honest."
Other bookies' favorites over the past two years have included Richard Madden, Riz Ahmed, Sam Heughan, and Lashana Lynch, whose character Nomi was given Bond's "007" number in No Time to Die. When EW asked the actress back in 2019 if she could imagine appearing in more Bond movies, Lynch said that she could "imagine myself doing a lot of things," and declined to offer more on the subject.
Lynch would be a surprising choice, partly because the franchise has never promoted from within, but mostly because Broccoli has definitively stated that Bond should remain a male character. "I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters," she told Variety in 2020. "I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it." Broccoli is much more open to a person of color playing the role which, for six decades now, has always been portrayed by a white actor. "He can be any color, but he is male," she said in the same Variety article. In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Broccoli clarified the thought, adding that the next Bond also needs to be a local. "He should be British, so British can be [any ethnicity or race]."
Nicola Dove/MGM Daniel Craig in 'No Time to Die'
That still leaves a lot of actors eligible for the part and it is notable how many of the bookies' nominations are people of color. It has long been speculated that Idris Elba could step in to the part. During an appearance earlier this year on Deadline's Crew Call podcast, Broccoli admitted that she had been told "a lot of fans want to see Idris Elba in a tuxedo." At 49, the Luther star may be too long in the tooth for a part that actors routinely play for a decade or more (in comparison, both Sean Connery and Craig were in their 30s when they initially secured the role). But, as Broccoli and Wilson will be aware, the future of the big screen experience is less certain than at any point in the past century. Perhaps it would make sense to think in years rather than decades, if Elba fits the role otherwise.
My personal opinion? I'd be tempted to cast Phoebe Waller-Bridge, mostly for the hilarious amount of tabloid outrage and social media mayhem that would ensure. Then again, it should be noted that the actor-writer is familiar with the franchise, having worked on the No Time to Die script, and has experience playing a character who enjoys alcohol and sex. Less puckishly, I'd go for Robert Pattinson, whose performance in Tenet seemed like one long audition to become a Roger Moore-style Bond for the 21st century, or Daniel Kaluuya, who seems capable of being both a blunt weapon and an open wound in the manner of Craig's 007.
A final suggestion for the next Bond adventure: there is someone already in the 007 cinematic family who the producers should definitely think about recalling in a supporting role for one final mission. An actor whose glamorous side is more than matched by her ability to look good beating the crap out of baddies and who is currently enjoying an amazing career renaissance. 25 years after she appeared in Tomorrow Never Dies, I'd be calling to see if Everything Everywhere All at Once star Michelle Yeoh has a gap in her diary.
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