More than two years after the last 007 adventure to date “No time to dieIt is not yet clear who will be the successor Daniel Craig will compete, who played probably the most famous spy in the world in a total of five films between 2006 and 2021. Although producer Barbara Broccoli has repeatedly made it clear that the search will continue for a while, the rumor mill has been running for a long time: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Avengers: Age Of Ultron”) and Idris Elba (“Suicide Squad”) are just two of the many actors being discussed as possible seventh Bond actors – including the names of Henry Cavill (“Man Of Steel”), Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Tom Hiddleston (“Loki”) or even pop star Harry Styles (“Don’t Worry Darling”) is mentioned again and again when it comes to the League of the future.
But history has shown that an actor already considered a megastar doesn’t necessarily get the contract: Daniel Craig only came to worldwide fame with his celebrated 007 debut in ‘Casino Royale’, as did George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton – who only took on the role of double-zero agent for one (Lazenby) or two (Dalton) films . – were not super popular Hollywood stars when they signed the contract for James Bond.
The only binding demands that the studio has consistently expressed are the following: The next Bond should be a British man – and if possible, no younger than 30. That leaves a few possible candidates!
Ryan Gosling is out, but Greta Gerwig wants another ‘Barbie’ star as Bond
Ryan Gosling is out of the running due to his Canadian heritage, despite relevant action film experience (he will next be seen as a stuntman in the big screen version of “The Fall Guy”). But Greta Gerwigdirector of “Barbie“, another actor from the ensemble of her billion-dollar hit has in mind: Kingsley Ben Adirwho starred as Basketball Ken in “Barbie.”
Here’s a photo of Kingsley Ben-Adir in “Barbie” (left next to Ryan Gosling):
In fact, Ben-Adir meets all the requirements: he is British – and 37 years old. In addition to ‘Barbie’, the newcomer was also seen in the Marvel series ‘Secret Invasion’. The biopic ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ is in the starting blocks for 2024, in which Ben-Adir makes his first appearance as the reggae legend of the same name plays a leading role in the cinema. Why not James Bond too? After all, he was part of the most successful film of 2023 so far and attended the Guildhall School Of Music And Drama – the same school where Daniel Craig completed his acting training.
“He can do everything and is a very good, trained British actor,” Gerwig said in the newspaper Variety Awards Circuit Podcast. Anyone who doubts this should just look at the scene in which Ryan Gosling’s Ken gives basketball Ken, played by Ben-Adir, a white fur jacket, after which he gives an emotional speech to all the other Kens. “He became a different person,” the 40-year-old said. “I think the instruction I gave him was something like, ‘Take the throne,’ and he just said, ‘Understood.’ And he turned and took the throne. I said, ‘Take this to whoever makes Bond, they need it now!'”
It’s entirely possible that the Bond producers have gotten wind of this, after all, Greta Gerwig is now a Hollywood heavyweight herself – if they didn’t already have Ben-Adir on the list. But fans still have to be patient: Barbara Broccoli recently announced that the role would have to be “completely reinvented,” but it was far from clear how this would happen.