Much like the Doctor in Doctor Who, part of the reason that the 007 franchise has endured for so long, with 27 movies released since 1962, is that the character is reinvented and regularly recast, breathing fresh life into the role. With Daniel Craig’s James Bond coming to a rather permanent end in No Time To Die, speculation has been rife as to who will take up the helm in future films.
Names like Luther’s Idris Elba, Star Wars’ John Boyega, and Venom‘s Tom Hardy have been thrown into the ring, as well as Lashana Lynch, who played another agent alongside Bond in No Time To Die. Many of these casting choices would take Bond in a new direction, being the potential first Black person to play the role or even changing 007’s gender for future films.
Recently, another name has been thrown into the mix that would be quite as ground-breaking, but still an interesting take on the role. According to reports from Puck News, Marvel star Aaron Taylor-Johnson took a meeting with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli to discuss taking over the role of 007 from Craig.
At 32 years old and as an attractive, white Brit, he certainly fits the bill for the types of Bonds we’ve seen in the past. Sources noted that his meeting with Broccoli went well, in line with further rumors reported by Hypebeast in December 2022 that Taylor-Johnson was already in line to play James Bond. This report also suggested that a mini-trailer featuring him in the role would be released in March or April, to announce his casting.
Taylor-Johnson is certainly no stranger to action roles, having played Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ulton and Kickass in Kickass. He’s also set to return to the world of superheroes via the Sonyverse in his leading role as Kraven in Kraven the Hunter. For me, I will forever only see him as heartthrob Robbie in Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, where he played the romantic lead opposite Georgia Groome (who is now enjoying early parenthood with Rupert Grint—small world!). Still, he’s certainly done a lot more serious roles since then and proved his acting chops time and again, so casting him as Bond would be far from a mistake.
If this rumor does come to fruition, I can’t deny that I would be a bit disappointed to miss out on a Black or female Bond. In an era where Doctor Who is casting female and Black leads, the death of Craig’s Bond seemed like the perfect time to really breathe new life into the character and show a wider perspective on what a British gentleman (or woman) can look like.
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
