That is the speculation now building online. The reason? A tweet, and an interview, from a reputable source. Are they speculating? Putting two-and-two together? Almost definitely. However, this name comes up again and again whenever a new James Bond is discussed – Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
He’s only 33, definitely got the look, and with a nicely growing resume of varied roles he could be maturing into it. According to the tweet from Esquire to announce the article:
That’s not a denial! This talk of a secret screen test, completed a while ago, simply will not go away. Word is that he nailed it so well that he also filmed a gun barrel walk to make up part of the iconic opening visuals that almost every 007 adventure starts with. This is usually only reserved for people who have been awarded the role after the audition process. The producers, including Brocolli, have frequently denied progress on this front.
However, No Time To Die finished filming in October 2019. They already knew Daniel Craig was leaving the role. A year of release delays due to COVID on that last installment gave plenty of time for more than thinking. They didn’t discuss things out of respect for Craig, still in the tuxedo until the final credits rolled. Yet cogs had to be whirring away in the background. There would have already been lists. Ideas would have been shared.
Longtime writing due Neil Purvis and Robert Wade often come up with the early outlines or first drafts. Even with a writer’s strike underway, some kind of outline probably existed for Bond 26. It was the tone and approach of a script that was said, by producer Barbara Brocolli, to be what they would use to inform their actor search.
They also wanted somebody under 40, preferably early 30s, who could remain in the role for a decade or more, making multiple Bond movies. Taylor-Johnson could be that guy.
A 007 outing takes about two years to make and promote. It is already approaching two years since No Time To Die was released, and that movie was pushed back three times, by over a year in total. It is about time for another Bond adventure. May 8th was the 60th anniversary of Bond appearing on screen for the first time, in Dr. No. Some speculated an announcement might be made on that date, but nothing happened.
Other reports have stated that Taylor-Johnson has recently relocated to London from Los Angeles due to him securing a big project that will keep him tied to London for a long time.
Could a surprise announcement be coming? Does Esquire know something?
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