And so the search for the next James Bond continues, this time with betting company William Hill providing favorable odds for actors Henry Cavill and Aaron Taylor-Johnson who find themselves their odds of landing the role tied at 2-1 each. The act of finding a new James Bond has become like a sport itself as many try to figure out who will take on the iconic role next.
Cavill’s odds rose after it was announced last week that the actor will no longer be returning to his role as Superman, despite having only just confirmed he was back. This actually ended up increasing his odds of playing the iconic British spy. Cavill isn’t the only superhero actor in contention for the role, with Taylor-Johnson also in the running. He appeared as Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, not to mention the role that brought him recognition from the general public, Kick-Ass.
According to an insider source speaking to the British tabloid The Sun, Taylor-Johnson impressed Bond franchise boss Barbara Broccoli in his trial at Pinewood Studios, saying
“Aaron went for a screen test to be the next Bond in September and producers and Barbara loved him. He is now one of the front-runners.”
Reported by NME, Lee Phelps, a spokesperson for William Hill explained why the two are their current front-runners for the role on their site, “I think both would be a great fit for the role, they have shown they are very good in the action genre.” This is very true, both Taylor-Johnson and Cavill have been in numerous action-based films between them proving that they can take on the more physically demanding aspects of the role.
However, according to Phelps, there could be an ever-so-slight advantage for Taylor-Johnson,
“producers did say that age was important to them, and as Taylor-Johnson is 32 and Cavill is 39 that could be the deciding factor if they want a younger Bond this time.”
Daniel Craig took on the role in 2006 with Casino Royal and finished with No Time To Die in 2021, so producers are likely looking for someone who can play the role for some time. That being said, the actor was 38 when he first took on the character, only one year younger than Cavill is now. It could also be that the franchise is looking to market towards a slightly younger demographic with a younger Bond.
There are, of course, other actors in contention for the role, with the betting site giving odds for them all, including, Tom Hardy as the third favorite at 6-1 odds, then Regé-Jean Page at 8-1, James Norton and Chiwetel Ejiofor both at 10-1, and Douglas Booth, Richard Madden and Dan Stevens all at 12-1. You can see the official odds for who it may be here on the William Hill site.
With the character reportedly getting a reinvention we don’t know what to expect moving forward and given that the franchise wants some time to look at how they will proceed after Craig’s version of Bond died it may be some time before we get any official announcement.
