Tom Hiddleston Downplays James Bond Rumors

Over the past few weeks, two things have become exceedingly clear about the future of James Bond. Firstly, Spectre was considered such a creative whiff that very few of those involved, including director Sam Mendes and star Daniel Craig, are all that interested in coming back for another outing. Secondly, there have been early discussions with a few actors about the possibility of one of them coming aboard to fill Craig’s shoes, taking on the role of 007.

Beyond that, the rumor mill has been churning away, singling out everyone from Aidan Turner to (popularly) Tom Hiddleston as the heir apparent to the James Bond throne. But now, Hiddleston, whose recent role on AMC’s The Night Manager was largely seen as a miniseries-sized audition for the part, is pouring some cold water on red-hot rumors that he’s about to take Bond’s Aston Martin for a spin.

At Wizard World Philadelphia this weekend, the actor bluntly admitted the following:

“I’m sorry to disappoint you everybody.  I don’t think that announcement is coming. But I’m very gratified to hear the enthusiasm. There’s not much that I can say that I haven’t already said, but I know… your guess is as good as mine to be honest.”

If Hiddleston was indeed at any point up for the role, it sounds like his window may have passed – unless this is a bit of misdirection by the actor, who’s been hounded by fans of the franchise ever since his name emerged via Birth.Movies.Death as a contender in “advanced negotiations” to take on the role. He’s been upfront about wanting the gig, but there’s a lot more than simple interest on Hiddleston’s part that would need to happen for him to land it.

For now, let’s sit back and watch the course of events – it seems like talk of Hiddleston being a sure thing to play James Bond was excessive, and that a lot is still up in the air over at MGM.