According to reports, Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be the next James Bond, after the previous 007, Daniel Craig shot his final movie for the franchise last year.

Following the announcement in 2020 that No Time To Die would be Daniel Craig’s last dance as the famous protagonist, rumors have been constantly murmured as to who will carry the torch for one of Britain’s most famous and iconic movie franchises. With that being said, the rumors have been growing louder recently and the majority of speculation as to who will take over from Craig is pointing in the direction of Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

The 32-year-old British actor is best known for his appearances in movies such as Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Kick-Ass, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he played the role of Pietro, aka Quicksilver.

Celebrity gossip Instagram page, Deuxmoi — one of Instagram’s most popular sources of celebrity news — speculated the news recently as it stated that an anonymous source told the platform that “Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be the next Bond,” and that a “mini-trailer of him doing the famous Bond shot is going to be released in March/April 2023 to announce him as the new actor.”

Yahoo!

For the past 50 years the role of James Bond as been perhaps the most coveted in Hollywood. It’s a role that can define an actor’s entire career for better or worse. There’s probably no other part that receives as much speculation as to who the next actor will be to take up the role. If you feel like you’ve been hearing Idris Elba would be the next Bond for a decade now you’re not alone and apparently you’re wrong.

While this is just a rumor there is a lot of buzz going around that Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be the next 007. If this is true than I think it’s safe to say that they nailed this one. While he may not be a household name (yet) he’s had a pretty great career over the last decade or so. If you’re not familiar with him he got his breakthrough role in 2010 with Kick-Ass, the bloody tale of a high schooler who randomly decides to become a superhero. Following the film’s success he found himself alongside Taylor Kitsch and Blake Lively in Oliver Stone’s Savages and Anna Karenina in 2012. After a Kick-Ass sequel in 2013 he landed an even bigger super hero role when he was cast as Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver, in the MCU, making two appearances. He’s appeared in several high profile projects since then, most notably Nocturnal Animals (for which he won a Golden Globe), The Outlaw King, Tenet, The King’s Man, and most recently as the very funny Tangerine in Bullet Train. Next year he is slated to return to the superhero genre with Sony’s Kraven the Hunter.

Going through his filmography one thing is obvious: he’s done A LOT of big budget action movies. Especially for someone who’s only 32 he’s had a really impressive career but has yet to really headline a franchise on his own. Sure he was the titular character in Kick-Ass but nobody saw that for Aaron Tyler-Johnson. Luckily you could have said the same thing about Daniel Craig back when he was first cast and that turned out alright. I also love this casting because another rumor going around is that the Bond franchise was looking to cast someone younger so they can begin to show 007 from an early stage in his career and grow into the man with a license to kill. If that’s the direction they’re really going in then this casting makes all the sense in the world.

Some of the other names that have been thrown around as betting favorites for the role have been Idris Elba (too old), Tom Hardy (doesn’t seem like a role he’d take), Henry Cavill (would probably be the first actor that would need to bulk down to paly Bond, also probably too old), and Tom Holland (no fucking way) so to see Taylor-Johnson emerge from this field isn’t a huge shocker as he’s had just as much success as these guys but maybe just lacks the name recognition. Besides, it’s not like producers take A-listers and cast them as Bond. You cast Bond and make them an A-lister. Other actors I would have liked to see get a shot at Bond include Jovan Adepo (Overlord), Nicholas Hoult (The Menu), Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), and my personal favorite though would have definitely been a longshot: Dev Patel (The Green Knight).

If this casting is true then there’s the question of who else is attached to the new franchise. Are Lashana Lynch, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes gone? Hard to imagine they’d stay on if they’re going for more of an origin story angle. Who’s the next Bond villain? This could be anybody at this point but there’s no shortage of talented actors who would crush this. Before any casting decisions get made I think the next big question to answer is who is going to direct?

I’ve got two Brits on my shortlist: Christopher Nolan and Edgar Wright. Nolan is arguably the greatest blockbuster filmmaker working today and he’s spoke previously about wanting to do a Bond movie. Why not jump at re-starting the franchise, something he’s plenty familiar with, with an actor he’s worked closely with previously? Wright would be an interesting choice because he has such a unique visual style and I think he could add some much needed change of pace into the franchise. Daniel Craig was great kicking ass and playing it cool but in my opinion he lacked a lot of the charm and humor that someone like Pierce Brosnan had and that’s something I think Wright could bring to the table. You also wouldn’t hear any complaints from me if someone like Danny Boyle got a crack at it.

Regardless of how the rest of the franchise comes together I’d say that Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Bond is a great first step. Hoping this one is true and that maybe we could see something by 2025 or so.