Since we are officially in 2023 and “No Time to Die” is in the rearview, I feel like it’s finally appropriate to really discuss the future of the James Bond franchise. Apparently, it looks like the producers are already having meetings with actors to potentially replace Daniel Craig in the lead role of 007. And it looks like one of the front-runners is none other than Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
According to a new report from Puck, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has already met with Barbara Broccoli, one of the Bond decision-makers, and the meeting went well. And when you look at the role and then picture Taylor-Johnson in a tuxedo, it does make sense. He checks all the boxes that the Bond creators seem to be searching for: he’s young, he’s handsome, he’s a solid actor, he’s British, and he’s white. (That last bit is conjecture, of course, but seems to be the direction they’re going on, right?)
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However, as Puck added, the problem might be that by the time Broccoli and her other producers decide on who to name as Bond, Taylor-Johnson might be too famous for the role. The Bond producers are said to be looking for someone just on the cusp of stardom, and Taylor-Johnson fits the bill… today. But next year, he’s got “Kraven the Hunter” and “The Fall Guy” on the schedule. Both are based on established IPs with a lot of big names involved. ‘Kraven’ is attached to Sony’s growing Spider-Verse and could end up being another “Venom”-sized hit. (Conversely, it could be a “Morbius”-esque bomb.)
All that to say, it’s not for sure that Taylor-Johnson is all but ready to take over as James Bond, but apparently, there is interest on both sides. With meetings already underway, you have to assume that a 007 announcement will happen sometime this year.
