New James Bond: Search begins in 2022

Anyone excepting EON to name the new James Bond anytime soon has got a bit of a wait in store, with franchise mastermind Barbara Broccoli revealing in an interview with BBC Radio 4 (excerpted by Deadline) that the search won’t begin until 2022. “We want Daniel to have his time of celebration,” she explained, adding, “next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”

This is understandable, as Daniel Craig is coming off a five-film stint that arguably opened the franchise to a whole new audience. Some readers may not remember, but people were furious when he was initially chosen for the part, way back in 2005. Some angry fans dubbed him “James Blonde” and swore they would boycott the series because it was assumed he wasn’t handsome enough or lacked some of the elements they perceived as integral to playing 007. But, of course, this seems utterly ridiculous all these years later, and indeed by the time the opening parkour action sequence took place in Casino Royale, all naysayers were proven to be dead wrong.

Here’s the thing – EON – particularly Barbara Broccoli, knows what they’re doing when it comes to choosing James Bond. They do a massive array of pricey screen tests, some of which have since leaked (check out this Sam Neil one and this James Brolin one). Henry Cavill, in particular, came close to nabbing the role last time it was up for grabs (ultimately – he was too young). There’s no doubt that EON will be testing dozens of actors, and I think that when the next Bond is chosen, it won’t be any of the current favorites. They don’t want big stars like Tom Hardy or Idris Elba. They’re always preferred to build their own superstars from the ground up. So I expect the next Bond will be a British actor (not a woman if they’re still doing a “James Bond movie”, but a 00-spinoff with a woman is possible I suppose) that’s vaguely known but far from a household name. It’ll be someone outside of the box, but also someone perfect who can make the part his own.

Who do you think should be the next 007? No Time to Die finally opens in North America October 8th. Look for our review tomorrow!