With a week to go until the world premiere of new James Bond movie No Time To Die, Revenant and Venom star Tom Hardy remains favourite to land the role.
Stars Daniel Craig, Rami Malek and Lea Seydoux will rub shoulders with Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, as the red carpet is rolled out at Royal Albert Hall for a film expected to reinvigorate the entire film industry.
Current incumbent Daniel Craig has played Bond in four films since 2006 – Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre – but with his fifth and final outing locked in and emotional farewells out of the way, here are the latest odds on who will take over as the next 007, as supplied by William Hill.
Hardy is no stranger to action-espionage films, having starred in Christopher Nolan’s Inception, and he is currently 5/2 favourite to assume the role.
The Hammersmith-born 43-year-old earned serious plaudits for his efforts in films such as Mad Max and The Revenant, and notably declined to speak about the iconic role when rumours first abounded in 2017.
Bridgerton’s dashing Rege-Jean Page has long been the internet’s choice to land the role amid news that he will star alongside Bond girl Ana de Armas in the Gray Man. This, as well as the news that Page will feature in Dungeons and Dragons alongside Chris Pine and Hugh Grant, show demand is high for the leading man’s services.
Page is joint second favourite at 3/1, alongside James Norton, whose Hollywood credentials have continued to grow. From Grantchester to Happy Valley, his CV is strong, and the 36-year-old Brit really raised the stakes with his turn as Alex Goodman in crime drama McMafia.
Welsh actor and Disney star Luke Evans, who has made no bones about his willingness to take up the coveted role, continues to attract interest at 6/1. Completing the top five is London-born Luther star Idris Elba, along with Superman Henry Cavill.
Will it be Elba, Idris Elba? There has been plenty of chatter ever since he posted a photo on Instagram with that caption back in 2018. And given all the high octane action stunts he pulled off in the hit BBC crime drama, he could be cut from the right cloth.
As would man of steel Cavill, who was almost cast as 007 ahead of Craig, having auditioned for Casino Royale. With much being made of the suitability of the 38-year-old’s muscular physique and London accent, both he and Elba are available at 8/1.
Meanwhile, Suranne Jones, star of the BBC’s underwater thriller Vigil, has been added to the list of potential suitresses.
The 43-year-old, who plays DCI Amy Silver in the six-part drama set in Scotland, is priced at 9/1 by William Hill following demand for her inclusion in the market.
The Chadderton-born actress and former Coronation Street star wowed us with her layered, nuanced and powerful performances in Doctor Foster and Gentleman Jack, and is deemed by many fans to be the ideal female Bond.
William Hill is offering odds of 11/2 for a female James Bond in the next movie, with Vigil star Jones (9/1) and Lashana Lynch (10/1) leading the way.
There were rumours that Craig’s current costar Lashana Lynch was being set up as the next Bond, but the trailer for No Time To Die has revealed she’s playing a 00 agent in her own right.
Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding is 25/1 to become the first British-Asian Bond, declaring it as an “opportunity to change”, while Killing Eve star Jodie Corner, who is on record as declaring her willingness to play a ‘villanelle’ – particularly with Flea-Bag and Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge as one of the lead screenwriters – is next on the list of contenders at 200/1.