No Time to Die has only been playing in theaters for a few weeks, but the James Bond rumor mill has already started to intensify. That’s not really much of a surprise when the talk surrounding Daniel Craig’s potential replacement has been bubbling in the background for at least five years if not more, but a surprising new contender has emerged.
Typically, the candidates tend to rope in the same recurring names over and over again, with Henry Cavill trending almost immediately after producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson confirmed the hunt for a new 007 begins next year. Idris Elba has ruled himself out, while Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page has remained at the forefront of the conversation, but he’s not the favorite anymore.
As per the latest odds from US-Bookies, The Umbrella Academy‘s Tom Hopper has rocketed to the top of the pile, with his odds now sitting at 7/2, just ahead of Eternals star Richard Madden, followed by Tom Hardy and then Page. Before No Time to Die arrived, Hopper was a 100/1 longshot, so that Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City trailer must have inspired a lot of people.
Hopper’s name isn’t one that comes up often, but the 36 year-old has plenty of experience working on effects-heavy productions, stands at six feet four inches tall and is built like a brick sh*thouse, so it’s not entirely out of the question to imagine him as James Bond.