Ever since Daniel Craig holstered the Walther PPK for good, guessing his successor has become a full-time pastime for bookmakers and Bond obsessives alike. The field of rumored candidates changes weekly – Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Regé-Jean Page, James Norton all sound familiar? - but one name refuses to leave the top end of betting odds: former Superman and previous Bond hopefulHenry Cavill. According to oneJames Bondhistorian, Mark O’Connell, despite having been ruled out of the running multiple times, Cavill’s previous failure to clinch the role is also his big advantage over the other names floating around the betting markets.
O’Connell spoke about Cavill’s chances in a conversation with theNew York Post,reminding everyone of a historical truth that puts Cavill right back in the running. For those that don’t know, several previous Bond stars were selected for the role after previously missing out on it. As he said:
“What often happens in Bond is that the runner-up is kind of favored next time round. Roger Moore was looked at for Dr. No in the first Bond film. Timothy Dalton was looked at in the early ’70s.”
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After missing out on being the first big-screen Bond, Moore finally debuted inLive and Let Die.Similarly, while Dalton’s early screenings in the 70’s didn’t end successfully, he would finally slip into the suit of Bond in 1987’sThe Living Daylights, and, in turn, that movie could have starred one Pierce Brosnan if hisRemington Steelecontract had not caused an unbreakable barrier. As Cavill was one of the mainchallengers to Daniel Craig’sCasino Royaleaudition, but essentially lost out for being too young, his casting in the role could end up being an unavoidable part of history.
Cavill is now roughly the same age as Craig, Moore and Dalton when they were cast as Bond, and he has been itching to play the super spy in several previous roles, such asThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.andMattew Vaughn’s comedic spy thriller,Argylle. He has also shown that he can give and take a beating when appearing inMission: Impossible – Fallout,and delivered some covert swagger in Guy Ritchie’s WWII thrillerMinistry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.Add in the fact that Cavill’s name continues to be linked to the role after so many years, and his massive personal fandom, and it is quite easy to see why some still believe that the one-time Superman will become the next version of the super spy.
Amazon May Want to Break Tradition With James Bond Casting
While historical trends are hard to argue with, especially when they are incredibly consistent,Amazon MGM now holds creative control of the franchise, and that could mean some radical changes coming to the franchise that rule out this unspoken rule of second chances. Previously, all casting decisions have been down to long-time gatekeepers Barbara Broccoli, Michael G Wilson, and Eon Productions, but with Amazon in the mix – and a whole Bond universe in the offing – there could be a need for someone a little younger than Cavill will be when the first new movie finally gets going.
Considering the Bond franchise has been on hiatus since 2021’sNo Time to Die, with no writer, director, or star yet announced, it is going to be at least a couple more years before we see James Bond saying his name again in cinemas. By then, Cavill would be in his mid-40s, and even being optimistic and expecting a new movie roughly every two years, he would probably have no more than two movies in him before having to give up the role. While this could be acceptable to Amazon for the sake of scratching that fan itch to see Cavill in the role, a more long-term solution and casting will probably be favored.
Source:New York Post
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