While speculation continues over who will step into the role of the next James Bond, Glen Powell has made his stance clear. The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Anyone But You’ star, currently promoting his upcoming Hulu comedy ‘Chad Powers,’ recently shut down the idea of becoming the next Agent 007.
“I’m a Texan,” Powell told The Hollywood Reporter. “My family and I joke around, I can play Jimmy Bond, but I should not be playing James Bond. Get an authentic Brit for that job. That’s who belongs in that tuxedo.”
Despite being the only American whose name has repeatedly appeared in the Bond conversation, Powell is politely taking himself out of the race. The franchise, now in the hands of Amazon’s MGM Studios with Denis Villeneuve attached to direct and Steven Knight penning the script, has yet to make an official casting announcement.
Fans have plenty of opinions, and Powell’s isn’t the only notable name that’s been floated. Other contenders include Henry Cavill, Theo James, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, all British and all frequent fan favorites. And like Powell, at least one of them doesn’t exactly sound eager to take on the legacy of 007.
© Gareth Cattermole“Everyone’s interested in that because it’s a big part of British cultural identity, but that probably wouldn’t be me,” Theo James told The Guardian last March. “I do think there are better people for that job. And, honestly, it would be terrifying: if you do that, there’s no going back. You’re opening Pandora’s box there.”
Henry Cavill, who has long been associated with the role in fan casts, took a more cautious approach during an April 2024 interview on The Rich Eisen Show. “Maybe I’m too old now, maybe I’m not, we’ll see,” he said, adding that he had “no information” on casting developments.
© Cindy OrdAaron Taylor-Johnson, meanwhile, addressed rumors from early 2024 that he’d been offered the role, but played it cool. “It’s not really for me to say anything,” he told Esquire in August 2023. “I just focus on the things I can have my hands in right now. What’s in front of me right now.”
Interestingly, one former Bond is already giving Taylor-Johnson his blessing. “I think he would be very good,” said Pierce Brosnan in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment earlier this year. “I think if he wished it, wanted it and got it, he would be great.”
© Andreas RentzBrosnan, who played Bond in four films from 1995’s ‘GoldenEye’ through 2002’s ‘Die Another Day,’ even joked about returning to the franchise himself, if the right opportunity came along.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see a craggy, 72-year-old Bond, but if Villeneuve had something up his sleeve I would look at it in a heartbeat,” Brosnan told Radio Times. “Why not? It’s great entertainment. It could be lots of laughs. Bald caps, prosthetics… who knows?”
© Dave Benett“I have been listening to the drumbeat of expectation of who’s going to be the next James Bond,” he said. “There are many great candidates out there, and I’m sure they’re going to make it a spectacle of delight.”
As for Powell, he’s channeling his energy elsewhere. His upcoming series ‘Chad Powers,’ co-created with Michael Waldron and inspired by a character from Eli Manning, premieres on Hulu September 30.
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