Since the end of Daniel Craig’s James Bond era, several names have been thrown around as the potential next 007. Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and Henry Cavill have all shown they have what it takes to be the leading man in an espionage action movie. However, they have seemingly more or less been passed over based on certain criteria like age and time commitment. Amid the casting uncertainty, Challengers star Josh O'Connor was finally asked about the rumors regarding him having been cast as Commander Bond, and he didn't hold back.
Josh O’Connor had quite the successful year, as Challengers scored big at the box office. It was also dubbed a must-see pop-cultural phenomenon, despite being snubbed for Oscar nominations. If rumors are to be believed, O'Connor's growing notoriety could help him earn the coveted role of 007. Deadline recently asked the Lee actor for his thoughts on the matter, and his answer was relatively frank:
I have no thoughts, really. The truth is that … I think in the space of a week, I made a joke about, wouldn’t it be funny if I played Bond? Then, me and Daniel [Craig] did an Actors on Actors, and then something else happened, and then suddenly I was James Bond. If I am Bond, I don’t know about it.
It’s been a little over three years since Daniel Craig’s 007 send-off, No Time To Die, was released, and few concrete details have been shared about the upcoming Bond 26. This isn’t surprising though, as casting the next 007 is no small task, according to producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Broccoli previously let on that it’s about far more than finding a British action star that looks good in a suit.
Josh O’Connor is certainly an interesting choice, though. On one hand, he’s proven his chops as a longterm actor on The Crown, but Bond would be a much bigger commitment than the British monarchy drama. He's also not quite the typical Bond type. To that point, his performance in Challengers helped launch the “Sexy Rat Boyfriend” trend on social media. While the lean, scruffy look clearly has a successful demographic it caters to, it doesn’t really scream dapper gentleman agent to me.
However, as the Spectre producer said, this would be a modern-day renaissance of a character that hasn’t had a reinvention since 2006, with Craig’s Bond debut in Casino Royale. The Queer actor perviously said one of the hardest parts of portraying the infamous playboy spy is completely buying into the idea of the “Bond masculinity.” After watching O’Connor’s performance as the cocky, yet secretly sentimental Patrick in Challengers, a character very in touch with his masculinity and confidence, I have no trouble believing he could potentially play Bond. He would need to set aside his apathy for the gym in order to put on a little more build.
While fan castings sometimes can sway producers to look into a certain individual, they ultimately don’t hold immense weight. On that note, there's been no confirmation on the La chimera actor being cast as James Bond. Most likely, Josh O'Connor is just next in a long line of attractive British men with a ton of Hollywood buzz about them and is therefore subjected to this rumor. Kudos to the O'Connor for taking the chatter in stride and responding to it in a reasonable manner.
Unfortunately, it looks like answers to all these puzzle pieces are slow moving, and fans surely won't see a new James Bond installment on the 2025 movie schedule. In the meantime, those looking to brush up on this iconic franchise by reading about how to watch the 007 movies in order.
