{"id":42933,"date":"2025-08-04T09:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T09:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/42933\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T09:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T09:40:12","slug":"who-are-the-new-contenders-to-play-james-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/42933\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are the new contenders to play James Bond?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The word is (just about) official: leading Amazon\u2019s reboot of the James Bond franchise will be Denis \u2018Dune\u2019 Villeneuve on directing duties and Steven \u2018Peaky Blinders\u2019 Knight on writing duties. <\/p>\n

Given the pair of them have worked with some of the hottest male stars on the planet – Bond will not be a woman, though rumours of a female 007 spin-off are strong, likely as a TV series – the field has now become a little clearer in the race for one of the most iconic film roles in history. Put simply, the two men will want to work with someone they trust.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s who to put your money on: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Getty<\/p>\n

Aside from an inevitable \u2018he\u2019s American!\u2019 backlash, Butler would be the perfect choice. Cool, supernaturally good-looking, has a certain edge that makes him convincingly violent, can genuinely act and quite simply, Butler is a perfect leading man. <\/p>\n

Since he has worked with Villeneuve on Dune: Part Two, there\u2019s an existing relationship and that always makes a difference when the stakes are high. <\/p>\n

No, he\u2019s not English. But nor was Sean Connery. Butler would be deliver, for sure. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jack O\u2019Connell as Paddy Mayne in SAS: Rogue Heroes, the new drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight (Kudos\/BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Media<\/p>\n

Now for someone trusted by Steven Knight. Jack O\u2019Connell stars in the hugely entertaining SAS Rogue Heroes for its showrunner Knight, and while he plays Irishman Paddy Mayne in that, O\u2019Connell is of course English. <\/p>\n

And more to the point, he may be adept at character parts – see Sinners – but the guys is leading man all over, he projects fearlessness, cool and a certain charismatic panache. Potentially a perfect Bond. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A suit worn by Cillian Murphy in the final scenes of the Peaky Blinders TV series is to go to auction (Brian Lawless\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Wire<\/p>\n

While some have said Murphy\u2019s age counts him out of a franchise that will want to establish a new Bond to work over a series of new films, it of course all depends on how the new Bond is written. <\/p>\n

Could they, rather than employ some new acting hot stuff, subvert expectations with an older Bond? Surely they could make things work to enable Murphy to play the role. A man who is, after all, one of the greatest actors of any generation? Who wouldn\u2019t like to see him in a tux wrestling with Jaws?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

REUTERS<\/p>\n

He\u2019s obviously Villeneuve\u2019s boy from Dune, and while he may not be the obvious fit for Bond (too skinny, too cerebral), he is an unbelievably good actor. You know he could pull off a killer Bond, with charm, grace, wit, and considerable sex appeal… a very Roger Moore-style Bond. <\/p>\n

Paul Atreides is effectively an action hero role with brains, so why not Chalamet? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Surely one of the front-runners, Elordi has the brooding dark looks of Connery and while he can pull of the posh society boy look – as we saw in Saltburn – like Connery he\u2019s working-class. You can imagine people glossing over his Australian heritage in a way that they wouldn\u2019t for some of the Americans on this list, given that he \u2018presents\u2019 very English. <\/p>\n

But look, he\u2019s young, handsome, brooding, and is a convincing lady-killer; he ticks all the classic Bond boxes. <\/p>\n

\"Diana<\/p>\n

Diana (Hannah Onslow) and Michael (James Nelson Joyce)<\/p>\n

BBC\/Left Bank Pictures\/James Stack<\/p>\n

Well, Nelson-Joyce is definitely in the running because he told us he was<\/a>. And it makes sense. He was sensational in This City Is Ours, the \u2018Scouse Sopranos\u2019 which was such a hit for the BBC earlier this year, and has something special about him that others lack. <\/p>\n

A kind of edgy vulnerability, where you never know what\u2019s he\u2019s going to do next. Exactly like his close friend Stephen Graham, he\u2019s unpredictable, keen on improvisation, and as such, you can\u2019t take your eyes off him. <\/p>\n

A Scouse Bond? Of course. He\u2019s cool, handsome, a bit of a loon… true 007 material. <\/p>\n

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (35)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Aaron Taylor-Johnson. (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Wire<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been linked with the role for some time now, without there being any news to confirm it. As such, it feels like things have cooled around him. Truth is though, he could do it, and do it well. He\u2019s matured in a seriously good actor, making a lot of his supporting roles in Nosferatu and Bullet Train, to name just a couple. <\/p>\n

He can do funny, has a Men\u2019s Health torso, and you can imagine him bringing plenty of self-aware charm to the role. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting: will the new Bond be deadly serious like Craig\u2019s, or come at things more playfully? The exciting thing about TaylorJohnson is, he could do either. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Aaron Pierre, the voice of Mufasa, said he hopes that \u2018the great\u2019 late James Earl Jones, who originated the character, would be proud (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Wire<\/p>\n

Now this is an interesting one. If you haven\u2019t seen Pierre in anything yet… well, do so immediately. He was sensational in Netflix\u2019s Rebel Ridge, in which he\u2019s a former Marine battling a corrupt Sheriff in an American town. But the guy\u2019s English, and honestly, he is ripped as anything, an action star who also happens to be so handsome it\u2019s almost criminal. <\/p>\n

Make this guy Bond and you have no trouble with convincing people that every woman in the world wants to sleep with him. The only problem is, the villains may not even want to kill him, as he\u2019s so beautiful. <\/p>\n

No, Pierre would be an excellent choice, and the first black Bond would be a winning way to restart the franchise. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Babygirl showed he can be a pin-up, and he\u2019s undoubtedly possessing of rare charisma. There\u2019s something prickly and strange about him, which you feel could count against him for a character as straight-up as Bond, who is anything but an oddball. <\/p>\n

But Dickinson is a fine actor and you could imagine him having an ultra-cool Gen-z take… which may indeed be where this whole franchise is going. A kind of Hackney 007… oh god. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Paul Mescal is to make his National Theatre debut (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Wire<\/p>\n

Since Amazon are going route one with their director and writer – two of the biggest names in their field – they may well just go route one with their star too: Mescal, the hottest actor of his generation. <\/p>\n

He has everything, doesn\u2019t he? Gladiator II showed he can front up an epic action movie. He\u2019s a sex symbol. Has a twinkle in his eye to deliver one-liners. Wears the hell out of a suit. And can go from tough to sensitive in the blink of an eye, something the new Bond will surely have to do. <\/p>\n

I mean, it\u2019s almost too obvious for it to happen, but… surely?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Theo James has called for action to protect refugees from the impact of climate change (Aaron Chown\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Archive<\/p>\n

The thing about James – as with Henry Cavill – is that he might just be too old for it now. Either of them would have been perfect had Daniel Craig left a few years ago, but now?<\/p>\n

Put it this way: James would be a solid choice, he looks the part, and would make a good Bond. <\/p>\n

But would it be exciting? This is an age of statement casting, in which you want to get everyone talking about your IP way before they\u2019ve even been shot. Nobody is going to debate Theo James as Bond in a way that they would, say, Aaron Pierre. So you feel it could be a no here. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Paapa Essiedu (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Archive<\/p>\n

Again, casting the first black James Bond would be a big and welcome move, which would get the whole world talking… but it would count for nothing if the actor wasn\u2019t the real deal. Which Essiedu most certainly is. <\/p>\n

He has serious stage acting chops, good looks, and can do charm, threat, cool. Above all, he\u2019s believable in everything he touches, an actor who delivers on the character. He\u2019d deliver on Bond. And would be a genuinely exciting new start…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The word is (just about) official: leading Amazon\u2019s reboot of the James Bond franchise will be Denis \u2018Dune\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[24653,24652,24654,96,806,5453,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-42933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-aaron-taylor-johnson","9":"tag-austin-butler","10":"tag-cillian-murphy","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-henry-cavill","13":"tag-james-bond","14":"tag-movies","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}