Sure! Let’s add even more names to the ever-growing list of people who may or may not be cast as the next James Bond. Daniel Craig is all but gone—anybody who’d turn down $100 million is REALLY over playing a role—and for the past few weeks, speculation as to who would pick up the well-tailored, martini-fueled mantle of the world’s most favoritest superspy has run rampant. We’ve already talked a lot about Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Damian Lewis, Gillian Anderson, and seven other people, but let’s all add Jamie Bell to the roster, if a report from Deadline is to be believed.
Deep in article detailing Craig joining the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s new film Logan Lucky—which is a movie about NASCAR if you can believe it—alongside Katherine Heigl, there’s a mention that his vacated role might indeed go to The Adventures of Tintin and Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell, who has evidently taken meetings with EON Productions’ Barbara Broccoli, whose family has produced the 007 films since the beginning.
The direct quote follows:
It has also been widely reported (and confirmed by Deadline) that Jamie Bell has discussed the Bond role with his Film Stars Don’t Die movie producer Barbara Broccoli (who has long produced the Bond movies).
Nerdist has reached out to Sony for independent confirmation and received a totally unsurprising “No comment.”
My feeling is that Bell may very well have been taking meetings for the role, and since he’s worked with Broccoli before, he’s already on their radar. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a shoe-in, or even in the running in the long term. With a role like James Bond—as iconic as any in cinema history—there’s no way any production company would keep the list of prospects very low, especially following a highly successful and beloved portrayal by Craig. They’d likely want to cast the net as widely as possible, weigh all of their options before making a decision.
But Bell’s a good actor and has been looking for a franchise for quite awhile following the stalled production of the next Tintin and the Fant4stic universe imploding like Dr. Doom’s failed dimension-zapper. And at least we’d know the new Bond could cut a rug.
What would you think about a possible Bell, Jamie Bell? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image: Lionsgate
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and has spent more time thinking about James Bond than he should have. Follow him on Twitter!
