With just as much inevitability as 007 ordering a shaken vodka martini, Tom Hardy has once again entered the conversation to find the next James Bond. The Venom star’s odds to play the world’s greatest secret agent have once again been slashed following increased speculation once more that he could replace Daniel Craig in the role. We’ve been seeing this rumored casting pop up for years now, long before Craig had even vacated the part, and, sure, it’s easy to see why people want Hardy as Bond. But just because fans want it, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the right choice.
Don’t get me wrong, Hardy is a phenomenal actor and if producers wanted to go for someone of a similar age to Craig who could likewise bring a lot of grit and gravitas to the character then he’d be a surefire choice. However, much like Idris Elba and many of the most popular fan-castings, he has several marks against him, in a practical sense. At 45, he doesn’t have long to go before he reaches 53, the age Craig was when his last movie was released. Plus, he’s a very well-established star, in the way that no prior 007 has been before. Basically, the logistics and longevity of his Bond tenure would be sketchy at best.
On the other hand, if the world wants Tom Hardy in a Bond movie, then who are MGM to deny it from happening? Luckily, there’s a far more enticing, and pragmatic, potential casting to be made here — as drawn from trends that emerged in the Craig films — that would help finally give the mysterious Bond 26 a storyline. Hardcore Bond fans, what I’m about to say next will shock you, but just bear with me: what if Tom Hardy was hired as not Bond himself, but a rebooted version of From Russia With Love‘s Red Grant?
As originally played by Jaws icon Robert Shaw, Red Grant is remembered as one of the most dangerous foes Bond ever faced. The original, and perhaps still the best, of the “dark mirror” Bond villains, Grant is the perfect evil reflection of Sean Connery’s spy. Like Bond himself, he’s handsome, sophisticated, and an expert marksman and fighter. Unlike Bond, he’s entirely immoral, working as an expert assassin for SPECTRE.
Speaking of, 2015’s Spectre broke the rules in rebooting a classic Bond villain for the first time, with Christoph Waltz’s Blofeld. This certainly did not go down as well as hoped, but that was largely due to the lackluster depiction of the character (by the looks of it, the filmmakers used Austin Powers 3 as their main source of inspiration) and not the concept itself. Rumors had it that No Time to Die‘s Safin was originally supposed to be a new version of Dr. No, which actually would’ve helped give Rami Malek’s foe a stronger presence.
Obviously, not every Bond film should simply bring back an old villain, but kicking off a brand new era for the hero by tipping a hat to the past would be a canny way of launching James Bond No. 7, whoever they may be. Surely there would be no better way for the next Bond to prove themselves than by battling one of the most popular would-be Bonds in Tom Hardy? Realistically, Hardy is too old and busy to be the spy himself, but he would make for a fantastic second iteration of one of 007’s most notorious nemeses.
I mean, Hardy could definitely rock that peroxide-blonde hairdo, right?