Let's indulge these rumors about the next James Bond

It seems like the next James Bond might be Taylor-Johnson… Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Okay, so the British actor’s name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue in the same way as his potential undercover counterpart’s, but that doesn’t matter. He can drink a martini! He looks great in a suit! Those are, like, the only two requirements for the job.

This update does come from British tabloid The Sun, so it’s best to take it with a healthy dose of skepticism. Still, Taylor-Johnson’s name has been tossed around for the role for quite a while now, and he does fit the bill at least in terms of past Bonds. Plus, he’s a “thirty-something” (33, to be exact) so he fulfills producer Michael G. Wilson’s only real stated criteria thus far. According to The Sun’s sources, “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” but expect him to sign in the coming days.

Should the Bullet Train actor choose to accept, he’ll be the eighth actor to don the suit since the franchise began in 1962, and the first new Bond since Daniel Craig took over almost two decades ago. He’ll also be around for a while. While the future of the franchise is still a little blurry, producer Barbara did previously express that whoever takes on the role will be expected to stick around for at least a decade.

This decision may be disappointing to some fans who were hoping to see more diversity in the role, which has until now only been played by white men. Idris Elba was long-rumored to be a front-runner, as was Lashana Lynch, who already starred as MI6 agent Nomi in No Time To Die. Elba, however, expressed that the potential job had been tainted for him on the SmartLess podcast in 2021 (via MovieWeb). “It was a huge compliment that every corner of the world—except for some corners, which we will not talk about—were really happy about the idea that I could be considered. Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it,” he said. Hopefully, the world will look a little different when it’s time to find the next new 007 a decade from now.