With rumours swirling that Daniel Craig has hit the eject button on his tenure as the famous British spy – it’s time for fans to do a bit of soul searching. Bond is a franchise that waits for no actor and with a slew of action hero’s waiting in the wings to take the mantle should the call come through; we decided to look at some of the early names being thrown around for the role. Some work; some don’t. They’re all good actors in their own way and would bring something new to the James Bond franchise for sure. We’ll probably be wrong anyway, so let’s have fun speculating!

 

Idris Elba

Everyone’s favourite pick to play James Bond; Elba’s Hollywood stock has risen dramatically in recent times with highly impressive outings. The former Wire star has charmed and impressed his way through a string of TV and film roles. The main issue with Elba is that he might be too big to play Bond. The producers went for an unknown entity when they appointed Daniel Craig and it could happen again. Plus the actor has been quoted as saying he doesn’t want to be known as the “black James Bond”;

“I just don’t want to be the black James Bond,” he said. “Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond so if I played him I don’t want to be called the black James Bond.”

While it would be wonderful to see him in the role – I don’t think he’d be willing to commit to the gruelling filming schedule that would mean he couldn’t commit to other long term projects.

 

Damien Lewis 

Rumoured to have already signed on; Lewis’s main claim to fame is in US hit TV show Homeland. Even as recently as January told reporters “would tell you but would have to kill you”. It would be an interesting choice for sure and one that would bring some much needed character back into the franchise (Something Daniel Craig’s Bond lacked).

 

Tom Hardy

Easily in my eyes the best action shout for the role – Hardy recently had an impressive turn as the vocal-shy Mad Max. He has grit by the bucket load and has a cool factor that only Elba matches on this list. The public also seem to adore him; with many recent polls suggesting that Hardy would be a welcome addition to the Bond franchise. If he did we can imagine things would get a lot more grittier for 007…

 

Tom Hiddleston

More outsider than front-runner – the actor found incredibly fame playing Loki over in the Marvel Universe (Reportedly finding himself with a much bigger role in the original Avengers as a result). The simple fact is though I don’t think he’s got the action chops for it. Anyone who takes on the Bond role would need to be able to carry action sequences off  and Hiddleston’s roles, while tremendously fun, lack the kind of grittiness that would make him ideal for the role. He would be a distinctly British option.

 

Jason Stathom

A complete contrast to Hiddleston; action by the boatload but almost no finesse in his performances to suggest he could pick up the Bond role. A Stathom Bond would be an impressive sight and one that would indicate the next James Bond flick is going to be a gung-ho affair but we just don’t see it really. Although he reportedly told the Guardian during his Furious 7 rounds;

Could I do it? Abso-f**king-lutely…. Would I do it? Abso-f**king-lutely.”

Who knows really?

 

Michael Fassbender

Recently attempted to distance himself from the role – Fassbender’s star has been on the rise over in Hollywood with a number of roles catching Studio Executive eyes – Fassbender would be the edgy choice and is just well known enough to bring a certain level of  credibility to the role.

 

Who do you think should take the role?