11 actors who could be the next James Bond

There are many positives in Cavill’s paper columns. And yet we can’t shake the suspicion that Eon Productions wouldn’t want an actor already famous for playing a character as iconic as the Man of Steel. But more importantly, and despite Cavill’s dreamy countenance, the actor sometimes struggles to portray a greater range of emotional depth. He has swagger, but can he nuance? Cavill’s Sherlock Holmes inside Enola Holmes was special wood, for example. So it’s hard to imagine him creating an immersive Bond that can stand out, especially after Daniel Craig’s multidimensional 007.

Michael Fassbender

In another life, Michael Fassbender would have been the perfect James Bond. Don’t believe us? Watch his first 20 minutes or so of Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class (2011). The amount of swagger and charisma he brings to the screen is magnetic (pardon the pun). So much so that Vaughn Fasbender even dresses in Sean Connery’s famous gray suit goldfinger (1964) at one point. And that series where he confronts the Nazis in Argentina? It even gives Craig’s “blunt instrument” ferocity a run for its money.

However, that movie was also 10 years ago and Fassbender hasn’t gotten any younger. At the current age of 44, he’s still set to play 007 for a few episodes, but Eon has quietly started retiring their actors around age 50, with Pierce Brosnan being 49 on his last Bond outing and Craig was the last to do the part on a set. at age 51. Presumably, Eon will again want to cast a more youthful presence who can play the part for at least 10 or 15 years, which could age Fassbender.

Idris Elba |

Like Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba is a perfect casting if not for the age issue. The Luther and Beasts of no nation actor is impossible to take your eyes off of. Every time he is in the picture, he commands full attention, alternately imposing and inspiring. Also unlike Craig in his pre-Blades off roles, Elba’s screen character can often have a lighter touch and sense of humor about things. Watch his dryly entertaining, and sometimes self-effacing, surrender The Suicide Squad for more.

But the actor will also turn 50 next year, right around the point where Eon begins to watch a younger batch of actors. Elba looks young for his age, but the idea that he’d have passed 60 by the time his third Bond outing came makes this a non-starter, especially as the lower cash register for No time to die suggest that Eon should look for a face in which a younger audience will not see their fathers.

Henry Golding

Speaking of younger actors that the next generation could raise their collective eyebrows, here’s Henry Golding in the conversation. At just 34, he would be the youngest Bond since Sean Connery and George Lazenby and could own the role for many years to come, even if his first appearance didn’t come out until 2024. More importantly, he is an undeniably charismatic presence that was able to bring back some of that old world charm that faded into the background during the Daniel Craig era.