With Daniel Craig’s 007 swansong, “No Time to Die,” finally in theaters and making hundreds of millions of dollars around the world, it’s time for Barbara Broccoli and the other James Bond decision-makers to start planning the future of the franchise. And if she wants a late addition to the “Who will take over as James Bond” discussion, it appears Dwayne Johnson is ready to put his name in the hat.
Speaking to Esquire, Dwayne Johnson talked about how his grandfather, Rocky Johnson, appeared in “You Only Live Twice” as one of the villains of the film. And when talking about possibly following in his grandfather’s footsteps, The Rock is willing to tackle the Bond franchise but on one condition—he takes over as 007.
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“Yes, my grandfather was a Bond villain in ‘You Only Live Twice’ with Sean Connery,” said Johnson. “Very, very cool. I would like to follow in his footsteps and be the next Bond. I don’t want to be a villain. Gotta be Bond.”
Before we talk about this in greater detail, let’s just acknowledge the elephant in the room, and the reason Dwayne Johnson will never be picked as James Bond. We’re all thinking about it. It’s so obvious. It’s because he’s bald. We just can’t have a bald James Bond, point-blank.
Jokes aside, we’ve heard fan-favorites come up like Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, and Tom Hardy when the social media chatter surrounds who should be the next James Bond. But even though those three guys are seemingly pretty different from each other, they do all have one major connection—they’re British. Last we checked, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is about as American as they come. That would likely be one of the big drawbacks for picking the massive movie star.
That said, let’s talk about the positives for a second. First, Dwayne Johnson has proven that he is capable of delivering billion-dollar worldwide grosses for blockbusters, and we know the Bond producers are always searching for another massive hit. Second, and this might be the best reason to choose him, having Dwayne Johnson as 007 would give him the chance to use his British accent. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard him try one before, and that alone could be worth the price of admission.
Granted, hiring Dwayne Johnson would go against everything that has been laid out before in the James Bond franchise. And honestly, his acting style is really nothing like what is expected for 007. So, it’s safe to say Broccoli and the other producers aren’t going to be giving Johnson a call anytime soon.
