Taylor-johnson ‘offered the role’ of next James Bond
AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON has reportedly been offered the role of the next James Bond.
The 33-year-old British actor has been asked to take over from Daniel Craig, who played the role for 15 years.
Taylor-johnson rose to fame in 2009 when he was cast as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy by his now wife Sam Taylor-johnson, who is 24 years his senior.
The Sun reported that Eon Productions, which has made most of the films in the series adapted from Ian Fleming’s novels, has offered Taylor-johnson the role of 007.
The newspaper said he was likely to sign the contract and start filming this year at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. A source told The Sun: “Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it. The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back.
“As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron is going to sign his contract in the coming days and they can start preparing for the big announcement.”
Taylor-johnson had been tipped for the role among others including Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy, Idris Elba, Henry Cavill and James Norton.
Ladbrokes said on Monday that Taylor-johnson was now favourite to replace Craig, who bowed out of the franchise after 2021’s No Time To Die.
Last week, Taylor-johnson was asked about the Bond role by Numero magazine: “I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment.”
Previously, Rory Kinnear, who plays Bill Tanner in the franchise, and Charlie Higson, the author of the Young Bond novels, have discredited the idea of a “front-runner” as they usually do not end up in the role.
Kinnear told BBC’S The One Show: “I always feel slightly bad for the people who are being highlighted, because that never tends to be them. They [casting directors] are very good at keeping the real person secret.”
Higson said last year that if an actor is talked about as “being considered” as Bond “you know that they’ve been rejected”. He added: “Eon, who make the films, play their cards very close to their chest and a lot of times they really surprise people ... in particular, Daniel Craig. Nobody had any idea at all that he might be Bond and, if you’d been asked in advance, you’d have said ‘Daniel Craig, James Bond? Surely not’.”
The next Bond film has been delayed because of last year’s Hollywood strikes. The last film made more than £600 million at the global box office.