As far as the next James Bond is concerned, it seems the name’s Taylor-Johnson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Or at least that’s what British tabloid The Sun would have us believe.
The newspaper has sparked viral speculation that the Kick-Ass star is just moments away from signing a deal to play one of cinema’s most iconic characters.
In a report featured on its front page, The Sun said Taylor-Johnson has been “formally offered the job” and “is going to sign his contract in the coming days.”
James Bond producer EON Productions declined to comment on the report, but that is not unusual for the company helmed by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
As a source at EON sagely pointed out to Deadline, if it spent its days reacting to reports about who is replacing Daniel Craig as 007, it would have time for little else.
This person steered us away from The Sun story this morning, but did not outright deny the report, which is among the top trends on X (formerly Twitter) in the U.S. and UK.
What we can say with certainty is that Taylor-Johnson did little to disassociate himself from Bond speculation as recently as last week.
“I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment,” he told fashion magazine Numéro in an interview.
We also know that Broccoli claimed just weeks ago that there was nothing to report. “There’s nothing I can tell you about the next Bond film,” she told our Baz Bamigboye in February. “There’s nothing. Nothing is happening yet.”
Mounting speculation over a new Bond does fit with Broccoli’s timeline for the film, however. The producer told Baz in June 2022, that No Time to Die‘s follow-up was a couple of years away.
She added: “There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”
That milestone is fast approaching — and so the whispers grow louder.
Only this month, The Sun journalist who reported that Taylor-Johnson will be Bond, wrote that Cillian Murphy was “in the running” to play the British spy.
Other actors featured in the 007 speculation cycle include Happy Valley star James Norton and Snowfall’s Damson Idris. Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, and Henry Cavill have also been heavily linked.
The Bond rumor mill has been shaken, but EON Productions has not yet stirred.