No New James Bond Casting Talk Until 2022, Says Producer Barbara Broccoli
Despite speculation ramping up ahead of the No Time to Die world premiere, the hunt for Daniel Craig’s replacement won’t begin until next year.
With the world gearing up for the rollout of No Time To Die, having its world premiere in London on Tuesday, U.K. bookmakers have returned to one of their favorite pastimes: speculating as to who might take over from Daniel Craig as the next James Bond, a conversation that has been rumbling on for several years.
But despite the current rumors now including Tom Hardy and newcomers like Bridgerton‘s Rege-Jean Page, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has ended any hopes of concluding them.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s flagship morning news show Today on Monday alongside fellow Eon Production head (and half-sibling) Michael G. Wilson, Broccoli said they hadn’t made any decision as to who would step into Craig’s shows and wouldn’t start doing so until 2022.
“We’re not thinking about it at all,” she said. “We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”
Added Wilson: “He’s been such a great Bond. Those are big shoes to fill. I can’t even [think if it’s] possible.”
On hiring Craig, who took over from Piers Brosnan beginning with Casino Royale in 2006, Broccoli said they were “very, very lucky” to persuade him to join the franchise.
“We could see he was reluctant to do it, because he knew it would change his life, which it obviously has. It’s changed his life, but it hasn’t changed him,” she said. “What he’s enabled us to do with the franchise is really explore the emotional life of Bond and go into the person and complexity and conflicts that happen within the Bond character.”
British bookmaker William Hill currently has Tom Hardy as the favorite to take over from Craig, followed by Page, McMafia star James Norton, Nine Perfect Strangers‘ Luke Evans, Bond favorite Idris Elba, The Witcher star Henry Cavill and, marking the highest-ranking female entry, Gentleman Jack‘s Suranne Jones.