Who will be the next Bond?

There are few casting decisions as hotly anticipated as the question of who will be the next 007, with many expecting that a black Bond or even female Bond is on the cards.

Daniel Craig, a somewhat reluctant Bond at times, has had one foot out of the tuxedo almost from the moment he took on the role back in 2006.

But ‘No Time to Die’ appears really to be his fifth and final outing, and so the rumour mill is back in action.

For years, certain names have been closely linked to the role which has previously been played by stars including Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.    

Tom Hardy

Craig was an attempt to toughen up Bond after Her Majesty’s top agent was threatened by an American -- Jason Bourne -- and his grittier adventures.

He was a massive success, with ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Skyfall’ in particular seen as two of the best Bond films of all time, and returning the character to the style of the original novels by Ian Fleming.

Tom Hardy, often a villain or at least an anti-hero in films like ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Venom’ and ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, would be a way to maintain that darker vision of Bond. He is currently the bookies’ favourite in Britain, according to betting agency William Hill.

Idris Elba

A name that is often in the discussion is Idris Elba, known for ‘The Wire’, ‘The Suicide Squad’ and hit BBC series ‘Luther’. 

He set social media tongues wagging in 2018 when he posted: “My name’s Elba, Idris Elba” -- echoing Bond’s famous catchphrase -- but he added soon after: “Don’t believe the hype!”

Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has repeatedly said that the next 007 “doesn’t need to be a white man”.

Tom Holland

Less coy about his desire for a license to kill is Spiderman star Tom Holland.

Not content with being a superhero, Holland told Variety: “As a young British lad who loves cinema, I’d love to be James Bond. So, you know, I’m just putting that out there. I look pretty good in a suit.”

There are plenty of other candidates, with Vogue recently offering a run-down that gave strong odds to ‘British-Malaysian dreamboat’ Henry Golding, ‘Bodyguard’ star Richard Madden -- or for a more cerebral twist on the character, ‘Peaky Blinders’ lead Cillian Murphy.