So far, being cast as James Bond has yet to ruin anybody’s career, and that even includes George Lazenby. The only one and done 007 in history, the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service star made the decision to retire the tux after finding himself disillusioned with the entire process of shooting the spy thriller, and eventually turned his back on Hollywood in general.
The 25th installment in the franchise is still awaiting release, and recent rumors have claimed that No Time to Die could end up being pushed back even further. With Daniel Craig at the forefront, though, Bond has once again risen to the summit of cinema after veering dangerously close to irrelevancy at the turn of the millennium.
Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day may have been the highest-grossing entry ever at the time it was released in 2002, but reviews were poor, and after the rights became tangled up in legal issues, many people were wondering if Bond had become a relic, asking if there was even a place for the suave secret agent in a genre dominated by the grounded and gritty likes of Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer.
Of course, as soon as No Time to Die fades to black, the speculation over Craig’s successor will only intensify, and one of the newer candidates has now commented on the news that his odds have gotten dramatically better. This time last month, Regé-Jean Page was almost a complete unknown, but as the star of Netflix’s hottest new show Bridgerton, he’s already gained a huge following, although he won’t even dare say Bond out loud.
“If you’re a Brit and you do something of any regard that people renown well, people are going to start saying the B word. I’m very glad to have the badge, I’m very glad to be in the company of such people who have the badge, but it’s just a badge.”
There’s always a big glitzy announcement ceremony when it comes to announcing the latest James Bond, but based on the way things are going, it’ll probably happen via Zoom this time around, unless of course the franchise plans on hibernating for a few years after No Time to Die.
Tell us, though, who do you want to see in the role next? As always, let us know down below.