Few casting decisions carry quite the same commercial, cultural, and cinematic weight as finding the next James Bond. It’s been five years since Daniel Craig bowed out with aplomb in his fifth and final film, and the machinery is still only starting to move on what remains one of the most valuable properties in entertainment.
With Denis Villeneuve now attached to direct the next instalment, the question of who inherits the Walther PPK is still at large. But like all good spies, the next 007 could be hiding in plain sight. Below, the BH guys pick who we think/want/will get the long-coveted role.
JS: James Nelson-Joyce
Double O Scouse. I’m convinced James Nelson-Joyce would be a brilliant Bond. He's got the piercing blue eyes, the looks, and that slightly unhinged energy that made Craig so good in the role. If you've watched This City Is Ours, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
Nelson-Joyce is effortlessly intimidating, but there's a charm to him that I reckon would translate perfectly to 007.
At 37, he’s just a year shy of Craig when he first donned the tux, and certainly young enough to make the role his own for the next decade or two (and relatively unknown enough to be a genuine surprise). Plus, I'd quite like to see Bond order a martini in a thick Scouse accent. Shayken, na sterrrred, la. Swear down.
AU: Joe Dempsie
I was an early adopter of the Callum Turner proposal; however, as recent press attention has boosted him to the top spot, I’m sure there’s an Amazon exec somewhere pushing for a less popular option.
Realistically: Jack Lowden, but my dark horse pick, in a perfect universe, is Joe Dempsie: he’s got franchise experience (Gendry in GOT), without top billing, and plenty of BBC drama under his belt.
Crucially, the casting director for Bond is Nina Gold, who cast GOT too. He might be a little close to Craig’s Bond: I can imagine they’ll want to zag into a more suave or green Bond (being Americans). I could also see Killian Scott (The Capture), Michiel Huisman (GOT), or Leo Woodall.
AC: Theo James
I’m not quite the film expert Ben is, but I do love a good gritty British crime drama, and after a recent binge of The Gentlemen, Theo James is at the front of my mind. I reckon he’s the one.
He plays the English gangster with a touch of class; the kind of bloke who looks at home ordering a martini with a nice watch on his wrist and throwing a punch in the same scene. A slight shift from an aristocratic gangster to a sophisticated spy doesn’t feel too far-fetched. Plus, we’ve already seen the Duke in a dinner suit – and we bought every second of it.
BE: Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Like the almost-deified Amazon producers, charged with the rather enviable task of finding the next James Bond, I too have mentally flicked through every single eligible British actor suitable for one of cinema’s most sought-after roles, tossing up the pros and cons of each emerging candidate with the same degree of scrutiny, gravitas, and entirely unwarranted authority as though Barbara Broccoli personally called and made it my top priority.
And, whilst this may come across as a rather uninspired pick, you could do a lot worse than Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
After all, he’s proved his acting chops across a versatile range of roles and genres, ricocheting between big-budget superhero blockbusters, period dramas, action films, horror, comedy, and prestige cinema. He also looks good in a suit and can sell a watch with the same commercial enthusiasm, which, for the next Bond brand ambassador, will be as crucial as throwing a punch or bounding out of a moving vehicle.
Speaking of watches, he’s already signed with OMEGA, which could literally save Amazon millions of dollars; and crucially, he’s not currently attached to any multi-year acting project (as far as I know). For my money, he’s the best of a very good bunch.