Next James Bond: Aaron Taylor-Johnson hopes in doubt as new ‘big contender’ emerges in race to play 007

Aaron Taylor-Johnson faces fresh competition in the running to take over from Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond, according to new data.

It’s been three years since Craig’s farewell in No Time to Die and it’s already been a record amount of time between his exit and the announcement of his successor.

Bond fans thought there was a breakthrough earlier this year when reports emerged claiming Eon Productions had offered Kick-Ass star Taylor-Johnson the role.

However, Barbara Broccoli and the team at Eon soon poured cold water on the suggestion but ever since the betting markets for who’ll play Bond next have seen Taylor-Johnson reside as frontrunner.

That may be about to change though as bookmakers and punters begin to look elsewhere for punts to replace Craig.

According to new data, Taylor-Johnson is no longer riding solo in a one-horse race with bookmakers as a star of Apple’s big-budget WWII series, Masters of the Air, has emerged as a “big contender”.

Lee Astley, spokesperson for betideas.com, explained all and told GB News why Callum Turner could be the man slipping into Bond’s tuxedo next.

He said: “The next Bond film rumour mill finds itself in full operation once again and we’ve seen big movement in the ‘Next Bond Actor’ and ‘Next Bond Film Director’ markets.

“Aaron Taylor-Johnson was a strong favourite at 4/11 to take over from Daniel Craig but has now drifted to 10/11, with Callum Turner emerging as a big contender, shortening into 4/1 from 8/1.”

This dent in Taylor-Johnson’s chances combined with a surge in popularity with Turner coincides with the reports that the latter’s girlfriend, Dua Lipa, could be in line for a shock appointment as the next Bond Girl.

Turner is far from the only name who’s emerged in recent months to compete with Taylor-Johnson for the part, according to bookmakers.

James Norton of Happy Valley fame remains in the mix with odds of 3/1 while Turner is only narrowly ahead of Rebel Ridge star Aaron Pierre’s 9/2 price.

Elsewhere, punters can secure a price of 6/1 on the likes of Rege-Jean Page, Damson Idris, and Henry Cavill – although the latter was branded the “most likely” to replace Craig according to a new AI study earlier this year.

News of Turner’s surge in the market comes just days after Amazon MGM Studios’ global head Jennifer Salke addressed the length of time it’s taken to find Craig’s replacement.

Salke was part of the Amazon team that snapped up MGM in 2021 for a whopping $8.5 billion – although Amazon MGM still has to contend with Eon which has retained control of the Bond franchise.

Speaking publicly about the delay in a rather rare insight, Salke told the Guardian: “There are a lot of ideas [about potential actors] that have popped up that I thought are interesting.

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“I think there are a lot of different ways we can go. We have a good and close relationship with Eon and Barbara (Broccoli) and Michael (G Wilson).

“We are not looking to disrupt the way those wonderful films are made. For us, we are taking their lead.

“The global audience will be patient. We don’t want too much time between films, but we are not concerned at this point,” Salke added.

Therefore, it sounds like fans may be waiting a while to see if Turner really does have a shot at usurping Taylor-Johnson in Bond bosses’ plans for the role.