On February 20, Amazon MGM Studios announced it acquired the rights to the James Bond franchise after it formed a joint venture with Eon Productions. Previously, James Bond was owned by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who represented Eon Productions.
Wilson and Broccoli will still be co-owners of the intellectual property rights, but Amazon will have the final say of what it wants to do with the character.
Eon Productions’ latest Bond film was “No Time to Die” (2021), which marked the end of Daniel Craig’s portrayal as Bond. Previous Bond actors Roger Moore and Sean Connery appeared in seven installments each while Craig has been in five total films.
Despite the mixed fan and critical reception to Craig’s various Bond films, his performance has received much critical praise and earned him many award nominations and wins.
Amazon MGM Studios has big shoes to fill when casting the next Bond for its streaming platform. If the studio holds to tradition and casts a British actor as Bond, here are the three best candidates to play one of the best classic film characters put to screen.
1. Henry Cavill
Despite his past unsuccessful attempts at being a franchise character, Henry Cavill still has the potential to be a great and memorable Bond. In his career, he’s played roles that are similar to Bond, including Napoleon Solo in Guy Ritchie’s “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015) and Agent Argylle in Matthew Vaughn’s “Argylle” (2024).
It is obvious by these choices that Cavill is hungry for a role that will sustain his career for multiple films. Cavill also has the proper looks, body physique and charm all Bond actors before him have displayed.
2. Taron Egerton
Taron Egerton rose to prominence after starring in Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 smash-hit “Kingsman: The Secret Service” as protagonist Gary “Eggsy” Unwin.
Eggsy is basically Bond in the beginning stages of being a spy. There are blatant nods to what Bond films have done in the past throughout the film, its sequel “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (2017) and prequel “The King’s Man” (2021).
Despite Egerton being 5 feet, 9 inches and shorter than the book’s description of Bond as 6 feet tall, Egerton is a worthy candidate to play the character for Amazon. He is older now, and his experience playing Eggsy will be a helping factor in how he could portray Bond.
3. Idris Elba
Idris Elba is already one of the most beloved performers in Great Britain and the U.S. He rose to fame playing Russell “Stringer” Bell in HBO’s “The Wire” (2002-2008), John Luther in BBC’s “Luther” (2010-2019) and Heimdall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Although he is 52 years old, Elba can still pull off the serious Bond while also being a Bond that has allure and will sweep women off of their feet. Many actors have the status of “he or she was meant to play this part.” Elba, without question, has this same sentiment about him like Cavill does.
