Exclusive: Aaron Taylor-Johnson In Final Talks For James Bond
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has had three meetings and a screen test for James Bond, making him the primary candidate.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is close to securing the role of James Bond in the latest iteration of the character after three intense meetings and a successful screen test. According to our trusted and proven sources, the Bullet Train actor is at the penultimate step of becoming the next 007 after months of speculation and increasing reports that he is in high contention for the role. If Aaron Taylor-Johnson does become James Bond, this will make him the seventh (official) actor to take on the part and the tied for second youngest.
Since Daniel Craig took his swan song as 007 in 2021’s No Time to Die, the constant speculation of who will take on the part of the iconic British superspy next has risen to predictably feverish levels. As usual, Idris Elba was bandied about as a potential, despite his repeated statements that he has aged out of the role and is no longer interested in it. Daredevil star Charlie Cox has also been speculated to be interested in the role, while one-time James Bond actor George Lazenby has endorsed Liam Hemsworth as a candidate.
However, the Las Vegas bookmakers are likely already adjusting the odds on Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the new James Bond. Producer Barbara Broccoli (who has controlled the rights to 007 for decades now) reportedly laid out several requirements for the next actor to take on the role, including that they are a minimum height of 6’2” and no older than 40. The latter requirement is specifically to ensure that any actor cast as 007 be able to stick around for at least three to four movies without appreciably aging out of the role (as Roger Moore was accused of doing when he left the part at age 57).
At age 32, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is right square in the appropriate age bracket to play James Bond for at least the foreseeable future. He also has the action credentials to convincingly play the globetrotting spy, first breaking out to audiences in the gritty superhero films Kick-Ass (2010) and Kick-Ass 2 (2013), in which he proved he can convincingly take a beating on screen. After that, Aaron Taylor-Johnson took on the role of Pietro Maximoff for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though he only stuck around for 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron before being killed off.
Since then, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has appeared in a range of action-oriented films including the Brad Pitt-led ensemble film Bullet Train and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet alongside John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. The role of 007 is simultaneously one of the most coveted and problematic roles in Hollywood, in that it instantly launches an actor into the upper stratosphere of fame and also causes their entire career to be focused on a single role. If Aaron Taylor-Johnson takes on the role of James Bond, hopefully, he is prepared for the consequences.
For now, we will have to wait for confirmation from EON Productions and Barbara Broccoli that the waiting is over and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is our new James Bond. He certainly seems to be closing in on it.
