As the search for the next James Bond will be something that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will start to look into in 2022, you can be sure that the betting odds will continue to show some telling trends. With No Time To Die slowly becoming less of a mystery, the world is going to turn its eyes to that perpetually burning question: who will be our next 007? Judging by the latest results, anyone interested will go nuts yet again. On top of the fact that Henry Cavill and Idris Elba are still in the running as fan favorites, the top spot has changed yet again, with two familiar combatants dueling it out yet again.
If you were hoping that Bridgerton alum, and current heir to The Saint legacy Regé-Jean Page was going to take his pop culture birthright back, then look no further. The latest update from US-Bookies has Page escorting Venom: Let There Be Carnage star Tom Hardy into a second place tie with McMafia actor/fellow fan favorite James Norton. Even with a pandemic record-setting box office draw, the odds can still break in the other guy's favor. Here’s a look at the total field provided by that “comprehensive betting web portal:”
- Regé-Jean Page - 5/2
- Tom Hardy/James Norton - 3/1
- Henry Cavill - 7/1
- Idris Elba - 8/1
- Lashana Lynch/Justin Hartley - 10/1
- Michael Fassbender - 12/1
- Adam Rayner/Nikolaj Coster-Waldau/Luke Evans - 14/1
- Sam Heughan/Richard Madden/Sope Dirisu - 16/1
- Mahershala Ali/Cillian Murphy - 18/1
- Ricky Whittle - 20/1
- Tom Hiddleston - 22/1
- Jack Lowden/Henry Golding - 25/1
The first takeaway from this fresh batch of odds is that the front runners seem to have solidified. Even with Idris Elba seeming to distance himself from the prospect, his name is still very much in contention, if you go by those pushing the betting pool. And it’s a good thing Henry Cavill politely kept his name in the running through recent remarks to the press, as he’s still pretty hotly tipped as well. If you’re looking for a hypothetical round of finalists, Elba through Regé-Jean Page seems to be where it’s at.
Outside of those choices, we see a lot of ties throughout various James Bond odds standings. Slightly back from when we last reported her odds, No Time To Die star Lashana Lynch’s odds have slipped slightly, from 9/1 to 10/1. In a tie with American actor Justin Hartley from This Is Us, Hartley’s odds actually improved from his previous 12/1 standing. So maybe those driving the odds are more open to a change in how James Bond is portrayed than we think.
Glancing through the rest of the lineup, we see familiar names like Michael Fassbender, Tom Hiddleston and, of course, Outlander star/uncanny Roger Moore look-alike Sam Heughan populating the rest of the field. Not to mention that Cillian Murphy is still kicking around, and even current Blade star Mahershala Ali is represented. Benediction star Jack Lowden, and Snake Eyes actor Henry Golding bring up the pack at the end, representing some of the younger blood in the group.
Feel free to read this next part aloud with us dear readers, as it’s time to come back down to Earth. The search for the next James Bond is far from over, and if you’re into stories that have a concrete ending, you’re going to have a bit of a wait on your hands. Unless, of course, you already have tickets to see No Time To Die in the near future. In which case, you’ll get to enjoy a solid ending to the Daniel Craig era of James Bond history.
