Theoretically, if the fans and oddsmakers casted James Bond yesterday, one could assume that Bridgerton and The Gray Man star Regé-Jean Page would be the newly-crowned 007. It’s an assumption based merely on the standings that Page has shown in the still-running race towards who will be the named the future Bond. At least, that was before we got the news that fellow Netflix star Tom Hopper unseated his platform colleague as the new favorite to become the next James Bond.
Tom Hopper, known as one of the stars of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, certainly has risen through the pack. According to the latest stats from comprehensive betting portal US-Bookies, Hopper was previously marked as a 100/1 shot to succeed Daniel Craig’s record setting run. What a difference a couple of weeks makes, as the first post-No Time To Die update sees Hopper sitting pretty at a 7/2, leaving the rest of the pack looking something like this:
- Tom Hopper - 7/2
- Richard Madden - 4/1
- Tom Hardy - 9/2
- Regé-Jean Page - 11/2
- Mahershala Ali - 12/1
- James Norton - 14/1
- Henry Cavill/Lashana Lynch - 16/1
- Idris Elba - 18/1
- Sam Heughan - 20/1
If you ever needed an indicator as to how volatile James Bond betting odds can be, this most recent shake-up is all you need to see. And this isn’t just a repeat of when Regé-Jean Page was knocked down to second place by Tom Hardy. No, Page fell three spots down the top 10 list of 007 candidates, behind fellow favorite contenders Hardy and Eternals star Richard Madden. So why are we seeing Tom Hopper become such a commanding player so quickly?
Why Tom Hopper’s James Bond Odds May Have Improved
The new trailer for Sony Pictures’ Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City might have something to do with this new development. The first footage of director Johannes Roberts’ cinematic reboot of the legendary Capcom video game showcases Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, the leader of a team of commandos investigating a zombie apocalypse. That look may have boosted Hopper’s James Bond profile beyond his solid fanbase from The Umbrella Academy, which is set to return for Season 3 at some point in 2022. It’ll be interesting to see if that momentum lasts after Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City hits theaters in November.
What Happened To Henry Cavill, Lashana Lynch, And Other Past Favorites?
Our previous round of James Bond odds saw favorites Henry Cavill and Idris Elba at 7/1 and 8/1 standings, respectively. And right before saw fans hoping that Lashana Lynch’s Nomi would get her own spinoff, the No Time To Die star saw herself standing at 10/1 odds. All three of those candidates have seen their chances decrease this round, with Cavill and Lynch sharing a 16/1 chance, and Elba falling down to 18/1.
An odd coincidence happens to be forming with Tom Hopper’s James Bond odds receiving a chart topping boost. Previous fan favorite Sam Heughan recently co-starred with Hopper in SAS: Red Notice, which was rebranded as SAS: Rise of the Black Swan in its recent release to Netfilx. Fans of Heughan’s chances are going to be saddened to see that the Outlander star’s chances have fallen from his previously shared 16/1 standing to a current 20/1.
Other than the standings discussed above, the only real commentary on the odds standings above is that, barring Tom Hopper’s good fortune, the field seems pretty locked in. As James Norton and Mahershala Ali have maintained their presence in the pack, so has pretty much everyone else. By the numbers alone, it still looks like we’ve got a narrowed field for the next James Bond.
That’s only by the numbers though, as there’s still no official movement on what the future of the 007 franchise will have in store. We’ll just have to keep looking to the odds to see what the betting public has to say about the next James Bond, and keep and eye out for if anything changes. And, of course, there’s always the prospect of seeing No Time To Die, for a first or fifth time, in a theater near you.
