S Poddar
Who will be the next James Bond? That question has been doing the rounds like a shaken martini since Daniel Craig’s explosive farewell three years ago in “No Time to Die.” The wait for Craig’s successor has already broken records, leaving fans thirsty for a new 007.
Earlier in the year, fans of the Bond franchise were ecstatic over reports that “Kick-Ass” star Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been given the film’s top prize. That was short-lived, courtesy of Barbara Broccoli and her crew at Eon Productions, but Taylor-Johnson sat atop the odds for months after that.
But the tides may be turning. With the latest information, there is no longer one, sole contender: Taylor-Johnson. In its place, a new “big contender” has broken its way to the fore, sending shivers down the spines of fandom.
Lee Astley, communications manager with betideas.com, dished the tea with GB News on why Callum Turner, the new bright-eyed Apple star in its next WWII drama “Masters of the Air,” suddenly is a serious contender to slip into Bond’s signature tuxedo.
“The rumor mill for the next Bond film is churning like a high-octane Aston Martin engine,” Astley said. “We have seen some significant shifts in the markets for both the next Bond actor and director.”
He elaborated on that, revealing a huge swing in the odds. “Whereas Aaron Taylor-Johnson was quoted at 4/11 prior, his own chances have shortened to 10/11. Elsewhere, Callum Turner has come from being 8/1 into a highly competitive 4/1.”
That is not mere chance. Turner’s luck runs high as news spreads that his girlfriend, chart-topping singer Dua Lipa, might just be the surprise choice for the next Bond girl. Is the apparent on-screen chemistry working its magic?
Of course, Turner isn’t the only challenger in the running for the role. Currently, James Norton, one of TV’s leading detectives in “Happy Valley,” is at 3/1 and is closely followed by “Rebel Ridge” star Aaron Pierre, at 9/2.
Down the betting list, one can find names such as Rege-Jean Page, Damson Idris, and even Henry Cavill, who was crowned the “most likely” Bond replacement by a curious AI study recently.
But this Turner news comes just days after Jennifer Salke, global head of Amazon MGM Studios, spoke publicly about the protracted hunt for Craig’s successor. Amazon, it’s worth noting, bought MGM in 2021 for a whopping $8.5 billion, but Eon Productions remains in control of the Bond franchise.
In a rare public comment on the delay, Salke spoke to the Guardian with some insight. “There have been a lot of interesting ideas [about potential actors] that have come up,” she said, keeping her cards close to her chest.
Speculations were hung in the air as fans had to sit and wait and see which one of them was going to rise up to take on the mantle of the new James Bond. Would it be the established favourite, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, or would it be something like a dark horse in Callum Turner? Whatever it is, the race for 007 is getting hotter, and it’s surely going to be electrifying when the classic role is finally unveiled.
