The name’s Taylor-Johnson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson – but will he be the new James Bond?
Daniel Craig’s franchise-defining run as 007 came to an end with 2021’s No Time To Die. It was a finale the likes of which the series had never seen, unequivocally closing the curtain on the actor’s tenure.
As one tux is hung up, another is lifted off the rack – no movie is ever the end for James Bond, and the conversation quickly pivoted to speculation over who could and should be considered for the mantle.
The usual suspects jumped straight to the top of bookies’ lists – like Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, and Henry Cavill – but one name has seemingly emerged as a frontrunner: Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Will Aaron Taylor-Johnson be the next James Bond?
The honest answer: we don’t know. If Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the new James Bond, it will be confirmed by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson – but it does seem like he might be.
Johnson rose to fame for early roles in Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy, and Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. He’s also starred in Savages, Godzilla, and Avengers: Age of Ultron as the MCU’s shortlived Quicksilver.
Most recently, he appeared alongside Brad Pitt and Brian Tyree Henry in 2022’s Bullet Train, and his smarmy charm and action chops positioned him as a possible contender for Bond. Fan casts are one thing, but rumors suggested he’d met with Broccoli and Wilson.
aaron taylor johnson doing a backwards somersault for vanity fair! pic.twitter.com/sHkx2L27gL
— best of aaron taylor johnson (@atjarchive) February 15, 2023
An earlier Puck report from Matthew Belloni discussed “the granddaddy of casting coups: James Bond. The Aaron Taylor-Johnson rumors are true – he sat with producer Barbara Broccoli, and the meeting went well, per sources.”
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In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Taylor-Johnson addressed the rumors with a no-denial, cryptic answer.
“It’s flattering. You can have something really positive [written about you], but you can also have something really negative that can circulate,” he said.
“You just want to stay in your lane, stay grounded, stay around the people that you love and love you back, and stay in that world. Because the moment you start believing the sh*t people say about you, you’ve lost your f**king mind. You’ve lost it.”
We’ll update this article upon further updates, and you can find out more about Bond 26 here.