British, male, thirty-something: these are the bare minimum requirements for the next James Bond, which has been described as a “reinvention” by producer Barbara Broccoli. This doesn’t quite narrow down the numerous possibilities for a new 007, but it hasn’t stopped those meticulous bookies from laying odds on the casting process. If we turn our attention to that arena, one Aaron Taylor-Johnson has emerged as a favorite in recent months (per NME).
In November, The Sun reported that the Bullet Train star had impressed producers in a “secret audition” for the role. Now, Puck News’ Matthew Belloni writes that Taylor-Johnson did indeed sit with Broccoli “and the meeting went well.” He reportedly checks all the boxes—beyond those listed above, he’s also a “great actor” and “accomplished but not particularly famous.” However, as Puck News notes, he’s about to re-enter the Marvel Universe (on the Sony side) as the lead in Kraven The Hunter and star alongside Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy film. So it’s possible that in short order he might become “too famous to take on Bond.”
This news comes just days after The Mail On Sunday claimed that Lucien Laviscount, one of Emily In Paris’ erstwhile lovers, has caught Broccoli’s eye. Laciscount, too, “ticks all the boxes”: “He is a super talented actor, is extremely handsome and in the past 18 months has won lots of new fans since he joined Emily In Paris,” a source says. “Bond bosses are already saying how you can see him in the 007 tuxedo, how dapper and fitting to the role he will look.”
Despite the, er, high profile of Emily, no one could yet accuse Laviscount of being too famous. However, he does have being a cast member of Big Brother back in 2011 working against him. “Lucien appeared on the show at a time when his acting career was not as high-profile as it is now, but he was very popular then and has a fan base now which stretches generations,” the Daily Mail source says. Put that way, it may not be such a black mark on his record after all: “That is a dream for Barbara who is very taken with him.” May the best Bond win.