Since Daniel Craig announced that No Time to Die would be his last Bond film all the way back in 2017, social media has been ablaze with fan theories about who will replace him in the iconic role. In the intervening years there have been a few names churned up by the rumor mill and scattered across timelines everywhere, with any British actor who puts in a good performance suddenly having their name mentioned as a potential for the famous spy role. However, few names have cropped up as often as that of MCU star Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
In recent weeks Taylor-Johnson appears to have moved from one of many potential Bonds to the frontrunner for the role of 007. And with the newest film in the franchise set to come out in 2025, we should soon be finding out if it will indeed be Taylor-Johnson telling us to drink our martinis incorrectly. But what does the man at the center of it all have to say about it? And who else is in the running to don the tux and battle the bad guys?
Who is Aaron Taylor-Johnson?
The English actor first came to prominence in 2009 with his performance as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy. The next year he played the lead role in Kick-Ass alongside Nicolas Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz, earning him international acclaim. Since then his career has blossomed, with him working on a variety of hit projects, including playing Quicksilver in the MCU.
Why is Aaron Taylor-Johnson a candidate to play Bond?
Taylor-Johnson fulfills a number of criteria that the people who choose the next James Bond seem to always go for. He’s in his thirties, has an excellent resume (including a part in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet that many consider to have been a signal he was open to the role of Bond), and, importantly, is handsome and suave in a Bond kind of way. And let’s not forget he’s a pretty nifty actor with plenty of experience, and while famous, he doesn’t already quite have the profile that playing Bond would inevitably give him – the Bond team like to be the ones to catapult an actor into true superstardom. He ticks all the boxes and then some, so it’s no surprise to see his name echoing through Twitter.
His suitability for the role isn’t the only reason he’s the frontrunner for 007, though. As first reported by The Sun, and later confirmed by Puck News, Taylor-Johnson has already sat down with Bond producers to discuss the role. The talks reportedly went well, and he is currently British gambling firm Ladbrokes’ favorite to win the role.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s response to his casting rumors
Taylor-Johnson has been mostly understated about his links to the iconic British character, recently telling Vanity Fair:
“It’s flattering. You can have something really positive [written about you], but you can also have something really negative that can circulate. You just want to stay in your lane, stay grounded, stay around the people that you love and love you back, and stay in that world. Because the moment you start believing the shit people say about you, you’ve lost your fucking mind.”
So, no confirmations either way, but he’s clearly happy to be in the running.
Who else is being rumored to play Bond?
While Taylor-Johnson would undoubtedly make a fine choice for the next Bond, there are still several other names in the running. Given that the team behind Bond used an interview with Deadline to describe the next film as a “reinvention” of the franchise, there’s even a chance his seeming suitability for the role might play against him.
Henry Cavill surged to the top of the bookies’ favorites when it was announced that he would no longer be acting in the Superman films. While many initially thought this was so he could return to The Witcher, that’s now been confirmed to be untrue, leaving him free to focus on Bond. His star power is already unmatched, and he narrowly missed out on the role to Daniel Craig all the way back in 2005, so the smoke certainly seems like it could have fire behind it. However, Cavill is slated to appear in a series based on the tabletop war and strategy game Warhammer. He’s a gushing fan of the game, so the project is likely to take up a lot of his time, making Bond unlikely.
When Regé-Jean Page announced he was leaving Bridgerton after just one season, many speculated it was because he’d been offered the role of 007 on the strength of his standout performance as Simon Basset. Like Taylor-Johnson (and everyone associated with Bond) he’s played down the rumors, while maintaining it’s an honor to even be mentioned as a potential Bond. So far only tenuous gossip pages have put any real weight behind the claim Page will be the next 007, but he’s one to watch.
Another choice that would surprise very few would be Tom Hardy. Countless outlets have suggested that he’s in contention, although Naomie Harris, who plays Moneypenny, has said that he’s probably “too established” for the role, explaining in an interview on U.K. morning television show Lorraine:
“He [Tom Hardy] would make a great Bond, but interestingly they always choose someone who we don’t expect and someone who’s more up and coming… I think it’s going to be someone so unexpected and their name isn’t even in the mix.”
A final longshot candidate is the Emily in Paris star Lucien Laviscount – who is apparently deeply admired by influential members of the Bond production team, namely Barbara Broccoli, as per the Daily Mail. He certainly fits the strong, handsome, and debonair aspects of the Bond role, and his turn on the Netflix show has made him famous enough to be known but not so big it’s a hindrance. However, he also once appeared on the reality television series Big Brother, which some think might turn the Bond team off him.
We can’t do a Bond article without mentioning Idris Elba. The Luther and The Wire actor is certainly talented, having put in nearly two decades of sparkling performances in television and film. And, as pointed out on The Office (U.S.) he’s incredibly handsome. But, despite persistent links between him and the role of 007, the actor has said he won’t be playing the part – although that still doesn’t stop his name being mentioned every time a new Bond rumor comes up!
