According to media reports, the producers of the James Bond franchise have picked their next James Bond.
These reports claim Aaron Taylor-Johnson, star of Kick-Ass, Godzilla, and Quicksilver in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the choice to replace Daniel Craig as 007.
For months, rumors have pointed to Taylor-Johnson as the frontrunner in the search for a new James Bond actor. According to The Sun, “Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it. The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back.”
They added, “As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron is going to sign his contract in the coming days and they can start preparing for the big announcement.”
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Taylor-Johnson’s recent films include the Bond-esque The King’s Man, the action thriller Bullet Train, and the adaptation of the old TV series The Fall Guy. He’ll next be seen in the title role in Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff Kraven the Hunter. He’s also got a role in the upcoming remake of Nosferatu by The Witch filmmaker Robert Eggers.
The next 007 will be the seventh official James Bond star, following Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. And the next Bond film will be the first since 2021’s No Time to Die.
Because that film (uh, spoiler alert) killed James Bond, that means the next installment, whoever it stars, will have a blank slate to work from. Will it be another reboot the way Casino Royale was almost 20 years ago? Will it finally confirm the long-standing fan theory that each James Bond actor is actually playing a different person who is given the code name “James Bond” the same way each member of MI6 gets a double-0 designation? Time will tell.
The next James Bond will be the 26th installment of the long-running action franchise. It does not yet have a release date scheduled. The Sun claims the film is expected to begin production later this year.
