Entertainment
James Bond replacement battle for Daniel Craig is ‘wide open’ says film boss
We may hear 007 rumours, but for know they are just that (Picture: Getty/Metro.co.uk)
The battle to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond is ‘wide open’, according to MGM boss Pamela Abdy.
Abdy, who serves as MGM’s President of Motion Pictures, has revealed that the studio has had ‘preliminary conversations’ with 007 producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson about who will replace Craig, after he bowed out as Bond in recent blockbuster No Time To Die.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘It’s wide open. We’ve had very early preliminary conversations with Barbara and Michael, but we wanted Daniel to have his last hurrah.’
Idris Elba has been a firm favourite as a potential 007 but it was recently reported that the Luther star was in ‘early’ talks to play a Bond villain.
A source told The Sun: ‘Idris has had informal talks with the studio and he has been told there is a role in the next Bond film for him, if he wants it.
‘He won’t be the title character, but they do recognise the amount of pull and respect he commands, and they want to work with him on a completely original character for the next instalment.
Elba has been a fan-favourite pick for Bond for years, but might he play another character? (Picture: Rex/Yuji Uekawa)
‘It is still very early days for the conversations but, so far, it looks like it would be the role of a villain.’
Chatting to Metro.co.uk and other press in October, he was asked what his response was to fans who were hoping he would fill the role.
‘Well I would say… There is nothing to say,’ he laughed. ‘I mean, it’s such a nice compliment to be considered, in most people’s opinion, to be the next James Bond.
‘But that’s not a reality. So hey, it is what it is.’
Elba previously said that he would jump at the chance to play Bond, but he would worry that the public reaction would focus on his ethnicity rather than his skill.
Superman actor Henry Cavill is also a popular candidate (Picture: HBO Max via AP)
Speaking to Vanity Fair, The Concrete Cowboy star revealed that he would take the role if asked, calling it ‘fascinating’.
‘But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, “Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond”.
He admitted: ‘You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, “It can’t be”. And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin.’
If the field really is wide open though, Elba has stiff competition from the likes of Henry Cavill, who called it ‘an honour’ to even be considered, as well as Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page and Happy Valley’s James Norton.
Tom Holland entered the casting fray recently too (Pictures: Rex)
More: James Bond
In recent weeks, two more actors have let it be known they’d be interested in the part, with Dwayne Johnson looking to emulate his grandfather Peter Maivia’s role in a Bond film (although this time as 007 himself).
Tom Holland is also said to be keen on the role, with his Spider-Man co-star Jacob Batalon revealing that he talks about the possibility ‘a lot’.
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