James Bond is entering a new era as Amazon MGM Studios takes creative control of the iconic 60-year-old franchise, following the departure of Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. And with this it becomes even more unclear who will be playing 007 in the next James Bond movie. Although several names have come up in the grape vine as to the next possible addition to the list of James Bond actors, after the departure of Daniel Craig in 2021’s No Time to Die, replacements are yet to be made.
After acquiring the rights to the 007 franchise, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently posed a question to his X followers: “Who’d you pick as the next Bond?” And once the votes are in, Amazon will get to decide who plays the world’s best-known spy.
While Bezos gets to pick the next Bond, the internet has already come up with their favourite picks. While names like Idris Alba, Hiddleston and Tom Hardy have come up, it seems the two favourites for the next 007 are Aaron Taylor Johnson (the kid from Kick-Ass) and Henry Cavill.
After Daniel Craig’s stint as the charismatic, womanising super-spy, Broccoli and Wilson were clear about the parameters of their search for the next Bond reported 2oceansvibe. He would be played by a British man young enough to stay in the role for at least 15 years.
“The Barbara Broccoli group had a very realistic idea of how the franchise should continue. In other words: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Bond fits a certain profile, and you don’t want to mess with that too much.”
Film history lecturer and Bond expert Max Alvarez concurs, stating, “One of the key reasons the series has endured for so many decades is that they’ve kept the formula largely intact.”
However, with Jeff Bezos now holding the rights to select the next Bond, everything is up in the air. Although it’s still technically possible that Amazon MGM’s new arrangement could install one of the speculative actors, it is more likely that the upcoming movie will star someone that is rather unexpected. This would separate the franchise’s new era from the old in a much more deliberate way.
No matter what direction Amazon takes, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate what an outstanding Bond Daniel Craig was. He brought a fresh sense of mystery to a character that had become increasingly stale since Sean Connery retired the tuxedo. The real question now is whether Jeff Bezos aims for Bond to thrive for another few generations, or if he’s simply looking to cash in and cater to popular demand.
