Next James Bond favourite Aaron Taylor-Johnson ruled out by 007 star | Films | Entertainment
It’s been almost 18 months since Daniel Craig bowed out as James Bond so explosively in No Time To Die. Since then, rumours have been abounding that Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been seriously impressing 007 producer Barbara Broccoli in secret meetings and auditions. As a result, he’s shot to the top of the frontrunners at the bookies with current odds of 5-4.
According to Puck News scooper Matthew Belloni: “The Aaron Taylor-Johnson rumours are true—he sat with producer Barbara Broccoli, and the meeting went well, per sources. But while Taylor-Johnson fits the bill—great actor, British, fits the younger direction the Broccolis want to go, accomplished but not particularly famous—he’s about to be a much bigger star. If Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff Kraven the Hunter or Universal’s Ryan Gosling two-hander The Fall Guy works, Taylor-Johnson might end up, ironically, too famous to take on Bond.”
Yet being “too famous” isn’t the reason a star of the last four Bond movies has ruled out the 32-year-old from taking up the Licence To Kill next.
Rory Kinnear, who played M’s Chief of Staff Bill Tanner in four of the five Daniel Craig 007 movies, believes Taylor-Johnson won’t bag the role of a lifetime simply because he’s the frontrunner.
The No Time To Die star told The One Show: “I always feel slightly bad for the people who are being highlighted because that never tends to be them. They are very good at keeping the real person secret. I’d be interested to see who does take over, obviously, but it tends not to be the frontrunner, that’s historically [how it has been].” Here are the latest odds for the other next James Bond contenders at the bookies.
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Casino Royale runner-up Henry Cavill, who now isn’t returning as Superman, is on 6-4, right behind Taylor-Johnson. In third place is Bridgerton hunk Regé-Jean Page on 3-1, followed by James Norton, Dan Stevens and Tom Hardy on 6-1. Behind them are Idris Elba and Richard Madden on 8-1, Jack Lowden and Luke Evans on 10-1, plus Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sope Dirisu and Callum Turner on 12-1.
