Despite Daniel Craig still having one more movie left on his docket, the internet has long been rife with folks debating who would be the best pick for the next James Bond. There’s been an increasing call for the producers to go for someone completely different, maybe a black actor or a woman, but the latest report on the situation suggests that EON is planning on going as traditional as you can get with Craig’s replacement and is hunting for a Scottish star.
Filming in now underway on Bond 25, so with this being Craig’s final outing as 007, it seems longtime series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are beginning the search to lock down who’ll be handed the keys to the Aston Martin next. And though we still have nothing official on the matter, Yahoo! is reporting that they’re specifically targeting a Scottish Bond. If this is true, whoever they are will be the first Scot to play the part since Sean Connery, the original and often cited as still the best.
This does fit with what we’ve heard, too. When explaining that Bond wasn’t going to become a woman anytime soon, Broccoli stated that she likes to return to the original books by Ian Fleming whenever it’s time to reboot the franchise. As fans will know, Fleming’s Bond is half-Scottish, born to Scot Andrew Bond and his Swiss mother Monique Delacroix. This backstory was also recently established in the movies, too, in 2012’s Skyfall.
But which Scots, in particular, could be in the running? Well, The Daily Mail has claimed that Outlander‘s Sam Heughan has been asked to audition for the part of 007 No. 7. If true, that suggests he’s got a good shot of landing the coveted job. Elsewhere, Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) has become a favorite choice for fans after his performance in Bodyguard.
First, though, we have Bond 25 from director Cary Fukunaga to look forward to, which will see Craig return alongside Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomi Harris and Lea Seydoux
