Aaron Taylor-Johnson Addresses James Bond Casting Rumors

Now that Daniel Craig has departed from all things James Bond, the role of a lifetime will soon be given to a new actor. One of the front-runners for the role has been Aaron Taylor-Johnson, a favorite of many to land the coveted job of 007. Though some might consider Taylor-Johnson’s casting a near-lock, the Kraven the Hunter star doesn’t want to jinx things in interviews. As such, the actor played incredibly coy in a recent Esquire cover story.

“I’ve spent two years making Kraven. So all that hard work we put into trying to get that to where it is—that’s where I’m at right now,” the Avengers: Age of Ultron alumnus told the magazine. “I just focus on the things I can have in my hands right now. What’s in front of me right now.”

Earlier this year, it was reported the actor had even met with Bond producers about stepping into the role. Whatever the case, Craig has made it be known he’s not following the casting process to find his successor.

“I don’t really pay it any attention,” Craig shared when asked about his replacement in 2021. “I just, it’s a lot of noise. I don’t really go on the Internet, I don’t have a social media account or whatever it’s called … it is what it is.” However, when asked about how fun the next Bond will be to watch, Craig clarified, “Yeah, of course. I’ll be front and center.”

Who’s all in Kraven the Hunter?

In addition to Taylor-Johnson’s eponymous hunter, the film will also feature Rhino (The Many Saints of Newark‘s Alessandro Nivola), the horn-headed supervillain otherwise known as Aleksei Sytsevich. Taylor-Johnson leads a cast that includes Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) as Calypso, the priestess and Kraven’s love interest who has served as a Spider-Man villain in her own right; Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus) as Kraven’s half-brother, Dmitri Smerdyakov, the masked master of disguise called the Chameleon; and Russell Crowe (Gladiator) as Kraven and Dmitri’s father, Nikolai Kravinoff.

Kraven the Hunter roars into theaters next August. You can check out the official synopsis below…

“Kraven the Hunter is the visceral story about how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Set before his notorious vendetta with Spider-Man, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the titular character in the R-rated film.”