Producer Barbara Broccoli is teasing her vision for the next Bond. She’s saying that “it will be a man. He’ll likely be in his 30s. Whiteness is not a given.”
She goes on to claim that an actor has not been locked in yet. I’m sure they are eyeing specific actors. There’s already been a handful of actors namechecked in articles, for well over two years now, with some having even reportedly screen tested for the role.
We’ve already covered the rampant rumors of Aaron Taylor-Johnson potentially becoming the next 007. There’s been much speculation and it hasn’t really died down. No other actor has had this much buzz in terms of Bond casting. You can read the Bond/Taylor-Johnson stories here, here, here, here and here.
Whenever he’s asked about the matter, it’s been constant deflection on the part of Taylor-Johnson. In a recent interview with Esquire, he neither confirmed nor denied that he’s the next Bond. Also, when asked by AP, he deflected, again, and got rather frustrated about the question.
Some of the other actors rumored for the part include Regé-Jean Page, Richard Madden, Henry Golding, James Norton, Damson Idris and Dev Patel. If Broccoli were to abide by her rule that it has to be an actor in his ‘30s then we can scratch off Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, and Tom Hiddleston.
As for who might direct the film, the latest rumor had Steve McQueen in contention. Other filmmakers that have been spitballed include Damien Chazelle, Bart Layton, Yann Demange, David Michod, and Kelly Marcel.
There’s no official title for Bond 26, no director, no leading man and no shooting locations. A recent report confided that they have taken a crack at the script, although there have been problems with it, and not much progress has been made.