Other widespread Bond prospects Tom Hardy (45) and Tom Holland (26) are possible additionally out of the hunt attributable to their respective ages and their very own superhero gigs. But that also leaves loads of different longtime favorites within the working: Regé-Jean Page, Richard Madden, Dev Patel, James Norton, Andrew Garfield (assuming there aren’t extra Spidey motion pictures in his future), Jamie Dornan, Will Poulter (who’s simply been solid as Adam Warlock within the MCU), Henry Golding, and Nicholas Hoult (who was a runner-up to play Matt Reeves’ Batman, and appears able to make the soar to blockbuster main man).
Yet, whereas the age window for the subsequent Bond is probably going one of the crucial vital elements of their search — apart from the performing expertise wanted to play the multi-layered undercover agent — the producers have laid out another {qualifications} as properly.
Reinventing Bond for the 2020s
“I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond,” Broccoli advised The Hollywood Reporter again in 2021, echoing Craig’s personal feedback on the matter on the time. “I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles. I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”
So the subsequent Bond might be a person, and he might be British, however he received’t essentially be white. It can be a primary for the franchise to have an individual of colour take up the long-lasting position, and with Broccoli saying that the job can be a “10 to 12-year commitment,” the shift might redefine the character in methods we’ve not but seen earlier than. In reality, casting an individual of colour would open up new artistic alternatives for the franchise to touch upon cultural, political, and sociopolitical points in methods the flicks haven’t earlier than. Actors like Golding, Patel and Page meet the entire standards the producers have laid out to date, and with the Bond group mentioning on a number of events that they intend to “reinvent” the character, casting a non-white actor could possibly be precisely what this franchise must usher in a brand new period of Bond.
Regardless of the race or ethnicity of the subsequent Bond, although, it appears clear that Broccoli and Wilson’s objective is to create a brand new tackle Bond that speaks to the present second. They appear to need an evolution of the character on par with how Craig ushered in a grittier and extra conflicted model of Bond at a time of rising mistrust in our public establishments. It’s secure to say these divisions have solely grown since Craig debuted in 2006’s Casino Royale, and that present occasion will possible proceed to tell the subsequent period of 007 storytelling.
“That’s why, when people go, ‘Oh, who are you going to get?’ it’s not just about casting an actor for a film. It’s about a reinvention, and ‘Where are we taking it? What do we want to do with the character?’” Broccoli advised Variety of the problem forward for Bond 26. “And then, once we figure that out, who’s the right person for that particular reinvention? … It’s an evolution. Bond is evolving just as men are evolving. I don’t know who’s evolving at a faster pace.”
