The bookmakers have a new favorite for the role of James Bond: Dan Stevens.Among audience favorites that are too old or too young, he immediately standsout as a real contender.
Daniel Craig will soon be seen in his first ‘post-Bond’ film. From December 23_Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery_ to stream on Netflix. With a recent vodkacommercial, the actor already made it clear that he has left the 007 imagebehind.
The new (old) James Bond
The Bond train, however, just rumbles on. Amazon has invested billions in thestudio behind the franchise for a reason. The big question isn’t if, but whenthe next movie in the long-running series will come out. In any case, producerBarbara Broccoli has already made it clear that we should not expect arepetition of moves: “Really, Bond is being reinvented. And that takes time.”
But who will play the next James Bond? Bookmakers have been dealing with thislife question for years now. Fortunately, we have already received some morehints from the official Bond camp. Producer Michael G. Wilson recentlyrevealed that the new Bond will not be played by “a young actor”. So no TomHolland, as some hoped.
“We’ve tried to look at younger people in the past,” Wilson said. “But when wevisualize that, we find out that it doesn’t work. Don’t forget that James Bondis already a veteran.” Fair enough.
Betting offices nominate Dan Stevens
With all those hints and news, the betting offices are not sitting stilleither. The ranking of favorites for the mega reel is shifting considerably.Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy and Idris Elba have been in the top echelons foryears, but in recent weeks a new face has stormed the top five.
Then we’re talking about Dan Stevens. This is evident from an analysis bywebsite VegasInsiders, where data from various bookies is collected. The_Downton Abbey_ -actor is growing in popularity at the betting offices.
DanStevens in Legion (Image: Disney)
Everything fits
You may also know Stevens from Legion, Beauty and the Beast or theundervalued The Guest. The best man is British, which makes a difference,and with his forty years he seems in the sweet spot especially after thecomments of 007 producer Michael G. Wilson.
Where it is actually just too late for actors like Idris Elba, Stevens can runaround as a secret agent for many years to come. Not entirely unimportant fora long-running franchise. According to Ladbrokes, that the actor odds of8/1, “it was his role in the thriller The Guest from 2014 that first sparkedthe discussions”.
In it, Stevens played an American soldier who visits a family, and claims tobe the boyfriend of their son who died in Afghanistan. Bond or not: thethriller is an underrated recommendation.
Dan Stevens in The Guest (Image:Picturehouse)
The new top favorites
Anyway, back to James Bond. With Stevens’ odds listed, he is tied with_Eternals_ actor Richard Madden. They have to tolerate four contenders: HenryCavill and Regé-Jean Page (3/1), James Norton (9/2) and Tom Hardy (6/1). Not abad line to be in.
Well, in the end they are betting offices, not science. Barbara Broccoli andco. will not care about such rankings, and follow their own vision for thefuture of James Bond. Although you cannot ignore the fact that Stevens doesmeet a lot of criteria. From his looks and experience to his age. He ticksall the boxes. To be continued!