Tom Hiddleston may want to send his Marvel/Disney family a gift basket -- or make them all martinis. The recent confirmation of his new Loki series on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service appears to have upped his chances of being named the next James Bond after Daniel Craig. U.K. bookmaker Coral updated their odds, pushing Hiddleston closer to the top of the candidate list.
[Tom] Hiddleston's Marvel role might be a million miles away from the world of 007, but it's going to be another reminder of his acting skills, and punters are backing him to be the next Bond. He's now one of the leading candidates, according to our odds, and he's definitely in with a chance of following in Daniel Craig's footsteps.
A Coral spokesperson shared their updated rankings with Express. They still have Bodyguard/Game of Thrones star Richard Madden in first position, which fits with the recent rumors that the producers have their eyes on him.
But now Tom Hiddleston is in second place, just ahead of Idris Elba -- a perennial speculation favorite, despite his own attempts to distance himself from Bond talk. Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Aidan Turner, and Jack Huston all made the list, too, below the top favorites. Henry Cavill is actually toward the bottom of Coral's rankings, which may or may not surprise you.
Most of those names have come up frequently as potential 007 successors, once Daniel Craig is done with the gig. Bond 25 is expected to be Craig's final James Bond film, so the game is afoot to find a replacement for Bond 26.
We know the next Bond will not be a woman, since one of the producers shot down that idea. But everything apart from that -- including these oddsmaker rankings -- has to just be filed away as speculation.
Tom Hiddleston is not a new name for this game, but -- interestingly enough -- when a poll of 1,000 U.K. fans was conducted a few months ago, Hiddleston only ranked third on the list. That particular poll named Idris Elba the favorite, followed by Tom Hardy, with the Loki actor in third. (Richard Madden didn't even make the top five.)
So maybe Tom Hiddleston getting himself back in the public eye as Loki really will help his chances at the Bond gig. He's not the only Marvel star getting his own series on the new Disney+ streaming service, but MCU fans are especially excited to get more Loki after the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Hiddleston recently rewarded those fans with a little tease of good things to come.
Meanwhile, the Bond world remains in flux. Cary Fukunaga is getting ready to direct Bond 25, after taking over for Danny Boyle. That film has a current release date of February 14, 2020. After that Valentine's Day, we may learn more about which star the Bond team truly fancies for Bond 26. (Watch Daniel Craig change his mind at the last minute and come back again.)
