Who will be the next James Bond? Eight candidates for 007 after No Time to Die

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The hunkiest of the pack is Heughan, 40, who comes with a strong, ready-made fan base, thanks to his Highlander role as Jamie Fraser in Outlander, a historical series that has gathered considerable steam in its fifth season. The fans are predominantly women, though the actor has broadened his appeal by appearing as Vin Diesel’s adversary in the actioner Bloodshot (recently released in China) and even played a spy in the 2018 comedy spoof The Spy Who Dumped Me.

Way ahead in a Radio Times poll, the natural blonde is a fitness fanatic, has his own whisky label and loves posting on Instagram. Promotion is a huge deal in the Bond universe. In many ways he is ready-made for the job, especially given that in Fleming’s books, the character’s father was a Scottish Highlander.

Heughan, who auditioned for Casino Royale, was asked by STV News if he would consider the role once more. (Both Dalton and Brosnan were considered prior to their eventual castings.) “I think any actor who says they wouldn’t would be lying, and I think it’s time we have a Scottish Bond again,” he replied.

Two other contenders are better known – Tom Hiddleston (Thor) and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), who both come from franchises more suited to Bond’s principal audience of young men. Hiddleston, 39, whose visibility has diminished of late, had been a favourite a while ago, though Broccoli has reportedly said he is “too smug” and “not tough enough”.

The dapper Madden, 34, remains a strong contender after the huge success of Bodyguard, and even has a Marvel movie, The Eternals, in the can. He is also set to appear as a spy in the Amazon miniseries Citadel, co-starring Priyanka Chopra and helmed by Marvel directors the Russo brothers.

Madden told Variety: “I’ve played a lot of these good guys that bad things happen to, and Bodyguard was my first real experience of this moral space that isn’t so clean-cut as good guys and bad guys. I want to delve into that.”

Even so, he’s doing fine without Bond, and that seems also to be the sentiment of Idris Elba, 47, who probably is already too old for the task of shaping the next wave of 007 movies. The Luther star has also said he doesn’t want to “carry the mantle of being the first black Bond” and wouldn’t want to take on a role that would define him.

“You’re that character, and known as that character for many, many years,” he told Event magazine. “I’m creating characters now that can still live alongside Idris.”

It seems unlikely the producers will play the diversity card. Broccoli has said the new 007 will not be a woman, and while the Malaysian-born Henry Golding, 33, may be suave and British, he is way down the list of contenders.

Tom Hardy, 42, has been popular with some pundits, though the famously mumbling actor is probably more suited to grittier characters like Mad Max. Henry Cavill, 37, may be good as Superman but is probably too stiff to play a suave spy, and arguably made a mess of it by lacking subtlety in The Man from U.N. C. L. E.  

For now, we just have to wait for the much-delayed No Time to Die to come to cinemas in November. Sometime afterwards Broccoli and Wilson will decide the future direction of the franchise. With audiences starved of blockbusters, Craig’s last outing is bound to be a huge hit. The actor who plays his successor had better be up for a challenge.

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