Next James Bond Casting Rumor Kicks Out All The “Old” 007 Hopefuls

You may have heard the next James Bond would be played by Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, or Tom Hardy. But there’s one specific reason why suddenly all of those guys might not have a shot at playing Daniel Craig’s 007 replacement.

Turns out, the next incarnation of Bond might not be in his 40s or 50s, but instead an actor in their 30s. Perhaps even in their early 30s. According to Express UK — which may not have their facts straight — the rumored scoop around the next Bond goes like this:

“The Bond producers are looking for a younger Bond. Someone probably in their 30s. At the end of the day, they want someone who will be Bond for the next three movies. For the franchise, they want someone who will carry it through the same way Daniel Craig did it.”

The idea of hiring a new James Bond in their early 30s is not nuts. Sean Connery was 32 when he made his debut in Dr. No, and George Lazenby was 30 in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. And although he’s 54 years old now, Daniel Craig was 38 in Casino Royale. The tradition of Bond starting out a bit older began with Roger Moore, who was 45 in his first outing, Live and Let Die. Timothy Dalton was 41 in The Living Daylights, while Pierce Brosnan was 42 in GoldenEye.

Because Idris Elba is 49, Tom Hardy is 44, and Henry Cavill is 39, they’re all seemingly “too old” to play a “young” Bond in a new set of movies. (Though Cavill did audition for Bond way back in the 2005-era for Casino Royale.)

In terms of the other rumored names, Regé-Jean Page (34!) seems very much in the running, and pretty much anyone who is younger than perhaps 35 years old. For dads who were hoping for another 40-something Bond, you should never say never again, but know that for now there’s no time to die for the middle-aged secret agents. We may have gotten used to Bond being older but the definition of what is an “older man” when it comes to action movies, is constantly shifting. After all, the riskiest thing the Bond franchise has done lately isn’t that Bond was in his 50s, but instead, that he was a parent.

In any case, there’s no way that we’re getting news about the next Bond anytime soon. Earlier this year, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli gave an update on where the 007 franchise is in the recasting process.

“We’re talking that through. There isn’t a script, and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is, and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”

So, it sounds like the big screen 007 gig is (probably) back to being a young man’s game. For now. But then again, maybe it always has been?

Here’s Fatherly’s guide to watching all the James Bond movies streaming online.