The next James Bond is set to be a younger actor who will stick around for at least three films. The report came from Hollywood insider Ross King during a recent appearance on ITV’s breakfast show, Lorraine.
‘The latest rumour – and in some ways, part of this is very much true – [is that] the Bond producers are looking for a younger Bond,’ King explained. ‘Someone probably in their thirties.’ Understandably, it seems that producers want someone younger so that they will still be age-appropriate as a rebooted James Bond for a string of new films.
‘At the end of the day they want someone who will be Bond for the next three movies. For the franchise, they want someone who will carry it through the same way Daniel Craig did it,’ King told Lorraine. Craig was 38 when Casino Royale – his first outing as Bond – hit screens, and stands at 5-foot 10, while the other Bonds were mostly over 6 feet tall.
If the rumours are true, then it would rule out almost all of the frontrunner candidates, including Idris Elba and Tom Hardy. While Elba is more than a match for the producer’s height requirements, he will celebrate his 50th birthday next month. With the next Bond film not expected to start production until 2024, that could count him out of the running.
While those are the popular picks with bookies, they might not be what producer Barbara Broccoli is looking for. The news comes as Tom Holland has been named as the latest frontrunner to become 007.
