The Next James Bond Is A Netflix Star?
The next James Bond might be coming from Netflix.
This article is more than 2 years old
Rumors have circulated for years about who the next James Bond will be. Daniel Craig has been the character since 2006 and is about to retire from the role that made him into an action star. The Express reports that bets are hedging on who will be his successor, and many are saying it will be Regé-Jean Page, best known for the Netflix series Bridgerton.
The competition has been tough for fans to figure out who will be James Bond. Tom Hardy and James Norton were other contenders that people were betting on. Due to the success of the Netflix series, Page might be in the running. As the IP is owned by Amazon since its purchase of MGM, the company has been pushing for more diversity within the cast and crews of its shows and movies that are produced by Amazon Studios. Having Page would fit in this move as the company has created new policies to have people of color and the LGBT community fill positions for future projects.
The James Bond rumors following the Netflix star have been going for a while. These bets only make it more in the spotlight, but it has been on his radar for a while. While on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he told the host that the Internet “thinks a lot of things” and that this one about him being the iconic spy is “one of the more pleasant ones.” He cited that any British actor who starts to get recognition will start to hear the “‘B’ word.”
His idea that British actors breaking out and catching the rumor mill of James Bond makes sense. Everyone from Idris Elba to Tom Hiddleston has caught the gossip about 007. Elba especially has been in talks for a large portion of his career at this point. Speaking with Vanity Fair in 2019, he opened up about the rumors. One part of him would go for it if offered, but he is not excited enough to chase it down on his own time. The idea of a Black man as the character gets the actor “disheartened” as he said people from a “generational point of view” who will say that it cannot be done.
Daniel Craig is hanging up his James Bond suit and gadgets with No Time to Die, which was meant to release last year, but has faced delays due to COVID-19 shutting down theaters and putting the film industry in a state of limbo. He started in 2006 with Casino Royal, then followed up with 2008’s Quantum of Solace, 2012’s Skyfall, and 2015’s Spectre. His James Bond franchise has grossed over $3 billion worldwide, with Skyfall raking in the most money with over $1 billion and Quantum of Solace being the lowest with over $589 million.
Fans will see James Bond again with No Time to Die on October 8. The film will be directed and written by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) with co-writers Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and the writers from the previous entries of the franchise, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
