James Bond speculation is a favourite pastime of both Brits and film fans alike, as we endure the agonising wait for a formal casting to be announced.
Since Daniel Craig completed his last assignment as 007 in 2021 with No Time to Die, we’ve survived three years of gossip and rumours with no confirmation as to who the new actor to take up the spy’s licence to kill could be.
While Aaron Taylor-Johnson is still considered the favourite for the role, a source firmly denied his involvement in March when the speculation reached fever pitch.
In the months since, several new candidates have shaken up the Bond race too, as bookies and fans keep a sharp eye on rising talent and major new Netflix stars.
The list of contenders for the role is therefore drastically different to three years ago, when Idris Elba, Tom Hardy and Game of Thrones and Marvel actor Richard Madden dominated conversation.
So, who could be the next James Bond in 2024? Let’s take a look at the most likely bets…
Regé-Jean Page
Regé-Jean Page, 36, is an actor who has stuck around when it comes to potential Bonds for a while.
The star broke through at the end of 2020 with his leading role as Simon Basset in the first season of Netflix’s smash hit period drama Bridgerton.
This left him perfectly poised to enter the race as an established new talent as Craig stepped down from the role the following autumn.
Three years later and he’s still a name bookies will take bets on, appearing in the top 10, although he’s slipped down the ranks a little.
In recent odds, Coral had him at 10/1 while betideas.com placed him as a slightly stronger candidate at 8/1.
Damson Idris
Rising star Damson Idris is one of the exciting fresh names new to the Bond race.
The 32-year-old from Peckham, south east London, previously broke through in US crime drama Snowfall and has also appeared in Black Mirror and films City of Tiny Lights with Riz Ahmed and Billie Piper, and The Commuter, starring Liam Neeson.
He will next be seen in the racing drama F1 alongside Brad Pitt, Sir Lewis Hamilton and Javier Bardem, the first trailer for which dropped last week.
Unsurprisingly, his odds have improved from 11/2 to 6/1 with betideas.com, while they’ve remained similar on 8/1 with Coral.
Theo James
Theo James is also at 6/1 with betideas.com (and 7/1 with Coral) after his successful stint leading Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman series for Netflix.
The 39-year-old White Lotus star also ticked off a very Bond-worthy advertising campaign recently after writhing around on a boat in a tiny pair of white trunks with model Victoria Ceretti for a new Dolce and Gabbana advert.
James has appeared in everything from the Divergent film series with Shailene Woodley to Underworld movies with Kate Beckinsale and appeared as Lady Mary’s lover who memorably expired in bed in the first-ever episode of Downton Abbey.
He’s also flexed his brooding British muscles as original male lead Sidney Parker in the period drama Sanditon, before exiting the Jane Austen series after one season, breaking fans’ hearts.
The actor appears pretty comfortably in play for the role of Bond.
Leo Woodall
Leo Woodall was a surprise new entry into the Bond race recently, following his success in Netflix’s major adaptation of One Day, the novel by David Nicholls, opposite Ambika Mod.
He’s now shooting Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boyalongside Renée Zellweger, nestling him alongside some of the long-standing favourites to play James Bond with reasonably decent odds.
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Woodall will gain huge prominence in 2025 regardless of whether he becomes a certain spy, when the fourth Bridget Jones film, where he is rumoured to be playing the widow’stoyboy love interest, Roxster, debuts.
The 27-year-old Londoner – who has also appeared in The White Lotus – is also set to feature in Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon.
His odds are very similar to those of Theo James, with 6/1 offered by Coral and 7/1 from betideas.com.
Taron Egerton
Although not much might have been spoken of Taron Egerton in relation to Bond of late, the 34-year-old Welsh actor and Rada graduate is still very much in play.
He shot to fame as Eggsy in Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service back in 2015, following up with the 2017 sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle – meaning he’s certainly a dab hand at playing a spy character already.
Egerton also impressed fans and critics alike when he portrayed Sir Elton John in the chart-topping musician’s biopic Rocketman in 2019, with many calling for him to have been Oscar nominated.
The Tetris actor is due to appear in action thriller Carry-On opposite Jason Bateman next year and is currently at odds of 6/1 with both Coral and betideas.com.
James Norton
James Norton is another star who has experienced years of speculation surrounding the Bond role.
The Happy Valley star, who was nominated for a Bafta for playing the villainous Tommy Lee Royce in the hit series, boasts a 15-year onscreen career including roles in Doctor Who, McMafia and War & Peace, as well as his long-term role as vicar Sidney Chambers in Grantchester between 2014 and 2019.
He has also appeared in movies like Mr Turner and Little Women opposite Emma Watson and Florence Pugh.
Norton, 38, even revealed what he could bring to the role back in 2021, ahead of No Time To Die’s release.
‘I’m a type one diabetic. How cool would it be to have a diabetic Bond?,’ he commented to Metro.co.uk.
‘It would be wonderful for all those diabetic kids out there to think even a type one diabetic could be Bond! Other than that, I’d leave it to Daniel and the writers to carry on the legacy.’
The star also praised Craig for ‘re-defining it for a modern era and it’s this human role in a really wonderful way’.
He currently has odds of 5/1 from bookies.
Jonathan Bailey
Another one of 2024’s surprise new frontrunners is Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey, who has pulled ahead of his former colleague Page in the Bond odds.
The 36-year-old set pulses racing as the male lead in 2022’s season two opposite Simone Ashley’s Kate Sharma.
Having previously appeared in shows like W1A and Broadchurch as well, he also made a splash in US LQBTQ+ romantic drama Fellow Travellers with Matt Bomer in 2023.
Bailey, who will appear in the big-screen adaptation of Wicked in November with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has also been announced to lead the cast in the next Jurassic World movie, alongside Scarlett Johansson.
As far as his odds go for placing another feather in his career cap by playing James Bond, his odds are4/1 with Coral and 5/1 with betideas.com.
Henry Cavill
Now we approach the business end of proceedings and an actor who has been in contention to play the suave spy for possibly the longest of anyone – Henry Cavill.
Cavill actually lost out to Craig last time Bond was being cast, way back in 2005, because he was deemed too young for the role at the time at just 22.
Almost 20 years later though, and the Superman actor and star of The Witcher still has many fans pulling for him, especially because he made it so far last time.
In November 2021, he told The Hollywood Reporter that ‘nothing is off the table’ in terms of him replacing Craig.
‘I think it would be very exciting to have a conversation with the producers. In an ideal world, I’d never have to turn anything down,’ the 41-year-old shared.
‘Nothing is off the table. It’s an honour to even be part of that conversation.’
However producer Barbara Broccoli has since indicated that they are looking for a younger actor to take on the role – someone in their late 20s or early 30s – as signing up to the franchise is likely to be a 10-12 year commitment.
Despite this, Cavill’s odds are 5/2.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Finally we come to the man whose name has been on everyone’s lips most frequently in the Bond conversation in recent years, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
The 34-year-old has been the hot favourite ever since it was reported in December 2022 that he had apparentlyshot the classic 007 gun barrel sequencethat appears in the official opening for every Bond movie.
Taylor-Johnson, who will be seen in the lead role in Kraven the Hunter later this year, has understandablytired of the intensecastingspeculation since then.
When asked if he gets ‘sick of being asked about Bond’ at the Fall Guy premiere in April, the star sighed and responded, ‘Are you sick of asking the question?’.
If Taylor-Johnson has been given the role, he’s got strong support from hisBack to Black filmmaker wife Sam Taylor-Johnson, as well asaformer James Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan.
His current odds are at 4/5, meaning it’s thought more likely to happen than not for him.
However, it’s Broccoli and her fellow producer and half-brother Michael G. Wilson who hold the power to anoint the new James Bond, regardless of who the public might want.
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