Ever since Daniel Craig bowed out with a literal bang at the end of No Time to Die, speculation has run rampant over who the next James Bond is going to be.
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have intimated they’re looking for a young-ish actor who can carry the franchise for the next decade, which is why Aaron Taylor-Johnson has emerged as one of the prime candidates, so much so that Taron Egerton ruled himself out because he believes the role has already been cast.
However, by this time tomorrow, we’d be willing to bet the premiere of Prime Video’s blockbuster spy series Citadel will propel Eternals star and Game of Thrones veteran Richard Madden right to the forefront. He’s already won a Golden Globe for playing a secret agent-type in Bodyguard, but the 36 year-old’s turn as Mason Kane in the episodic adventure is basically one long audition to inherit the mantle of 007.
In the very first scene of the opening episode, we get to see the devilishly handsome Madden wearing a sharp suit and exchanging flirtatious banter with Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Nadia Sinh, before he uses a couple of smart gadgets to take out a train car full of disposable henchmen with no shortage of style, wit, and panache.
He’s about the right age, the preferred nationality, and he’s got both the looks and acting chops to pull it off, so anyone needing convinced he isn’t a prime candidate to suit up and headline the next iteration of James Bond need look no further than Citadel, which is basically an extended audition tape.