James Bond is dead, but fans are still craving the news of who will play the next one! Since Daniel Craig bowed out in 2021 with No Time To Die – unequivocally, that is – it’s been all about the next actor to get the role. The consensus red herring was Lashana Lynch, who featured in Craig’s last outing, with the discussion now moving on from big-name stars to more up-and-coming actors.
As such, even fan-favorite Henry Cavill has drifted back from the front of the race, and quite significantly so. Seeing what happened across Craig’s series, the new Bond also may need to embody a very different modern world. So, perhaps the top pick of the fans isn’t the best way to go.
A new Bond for a new world
Daniel Craig’s stint as James Bond brought about many changes, but there are still some fundamentals that need to hold in place for the iconic character. Above all else, Bond is highly skilled and suave. His martini is “shaken, not stirred,” he wears perfectly cut suits, has plenty of tech solutions to just about any problem, and is invariably found frequenting the most fashionable bars and sleekest casinos.
In fact, the man who created Agent 007, Ian Fleming, was always keen on invoking the casino aesthetic and how it plays into the character. Estoril Casino was a gathering point for spies during World War II, and that helped to inspire Casino Royale. As a result, Bond also has a fondness for baccarat – as did Fleming. This is, perhaps, one of the preferences that doesn’t need to modernize.
Baccarat remains a staple of casinos online and on land. For online players, live baccarat rooms offer a luxurious experience and are streamed from Bond-esque casino studios. While these offer VIP treatment online, Bond probably shouldn’t follow this modern development as it’s the locations that play so heavily into the films. Still, even more advanced tech and gear should be embraced to keep the next Bond relevant with modern times.
That is, unless, the next movie takes us back to another period entirely. No Time To Die showed us the first time that character had ever died – on screen or page – and the first time he’d become a father. Maybe the angle will be to go back to an older time and run out a younger actor.
Old favorites moved behind
The new James Bond is rarely an A-list actor. Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and even Daniel Craig weren’t major stars at the time of their appointments as the hero. While Amazon – now owners of MGM and 007 movie rights – could do with a big draw to kick off their era of Bond, going for a set star would buck the trend. This would seemingly rule out Henry Cavill and Idris Elba, even after the former’s rampantly popular fan trailer as the spy.
On the ever-present Esquire page that lets readers vote yes or no on the many potential actors to play James Bond, at the time of writing, only Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill had positive percentages for yes, while Nicholas Hoult would be the presumed dark horse as the only other non-negative pick at 50-50. Yet, insiders are tipping Aaron Taylor-Johnson to next don the 007 codename, followed by Taron Egerton.
Cavill is currently working on bringing the Warhammer 40,000 universe to the screen for Amazon. So, it seems unlikely that he’d be available for both projects. Instead, both Taylor-Johnson and Egerton tick the right boxes for age, Britishness, and not quite being in that expensive A-list category.
