Summary
Actor Dan Stevens reveals that he would be more interested in playing a
James Bond
villain than Bond himself.
Stevens also questions why the role of 007 has become a ”
benchmark of total success
,” saying that there are other interesting roles.
The next Bond may already have been found with Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
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James Bond contender Dan Stevens shares s surprising response regarding whether he would be interested in playing 007. Following Daniel Craig’s exit from the franchise with the explosive ending of No Time To Die, rumors and reports have run rampant regarding who might be next to don the tuxedo and wield the Walther PPK. While Aaron Taylor-Johnson has emerged as an unofficial frontrunner, Stevens, who is best known for The Guest and who also stars in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has long been considered a contender.
As official news regarding the confirmed Bond 26 remains hard to come by, Steven addresses reports that he’s a possible contender during a recent interview with Backstage. The actor reveals that there’s a different role in the 007 franchise that he would actually be more interested in, in addition to questioning just why the role has become so coveted. Check out his full comment below:
“I don’t quite know why that role has become the benchmark of total success, you know? I love those movies; I’ve loved them over the years. Would I make a great [Bond]? Sure, but I think I’d rather be a villain.
“But that’s not why I’m doing what I do. I think you can see certain people who’ve made certain career choices that are leaning that way, like, ‘Hey, what do you think about this? I look pretty good in a tuxedo, huh?’ It’s a strange phenomenon that it’s become the thing that must be achieved, because there’s so much else out there that you can get your teeth into.”
Has The Search For The Next James Bond Already Ended?
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Might Be The New 007
The final entry in the Craig Bond era was released in 2021, and concrete news regarding the future of the franchise has been difficult to come by since. While producer Barbara Broccoli and Eon Productions haven’t explicitly revealed who they’re looking at casting for the next iteration, a handful of actors quickly became seemingly top choices. The list includes names like Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Regé-Jean Page, and James Norton, among others, but it’s Taylor-Johnson who became a frontrunner after reports emerged last year that he had actually met with Broccoli about the role.
Taylor-Johnson is best known for movies like
Kick-Ass
,
Avengers: Age of Ultron
,
Godzilla
, and
Tenet
.
Both Broccoli and Taylor-Johnson remained mum about the matter, but, last week, a new report was released, claiming that Taylor-Johnson had actually been offered Bond and not yet accepted it. Eon declined to comment on the claims, but Deadline would subsequently report that their own source at the company would not outright deny that Taylor-Johnson had been offered the role. Nothing is for certain until an official announcement is made, but it is possible the next 007 has already been found.
Related Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s 2020s Movies Are Proving His James Bond Credentials Amidst tough competition, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has already proved in his various films this decade that he’s the right fit to be the next James Bond.
If Taylor-Johnson is to be the next Bond, though, he will need a compelling villain to face off against, and Stevens would be a great fit for this. As he demonstrated with The Guest, Stevens has the ability to be truly menacing when he wants to be, and it would be interesting to see a 007 villain who is younger and more fit, like a direct counterpart to Bond, in many ways. It remains to be seen whether Taylor-Johnson will be the next Bond, but Stevens is evidently not seeking the role out.
Source: Backstage
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