Aaron Taylor-Johnson Addresses James Bond Rumors
Daniel Craig officially left the role of James Bond in 2021's No Time to Die, and with no details announced regarding when the franchise will be revived, virtually every talented actor within a certain age range is being rumored to take on the role, which includes Bullet Train's Aaron Taylor-Johnson. In regards to the rumors, the actor admits that he feels flattered to have his name tossed into the conversation, though avoids either confirming or denying the validity of any claims that he could be taking on the role, instead opting to focus on the more pertinent elements of his life.
When asked by Vanity Fair about the rumors, the actor replied, "It's flattering. You can have something really positive [written about you], but you can also have something really negative that can circulate. You just want to stay in your lane, stay grounded, stay around the people that you love and love you back, and stay in that world. Because the moment you start believing the sh-t people say about you, you've lost your f-cking mind. You've lost it."
From Godzilla to Avengers: Age of Ultron to The King's Man, the actor has proven that he has no problem stepping into a role in a major franchise, while last year's Bullet Train allowed him to show off more of his physical abilities that would be necessary to take on a role like Bond. The actor went on to note how his work in that action-thriller opened up doors to even more franchises, including Sony's Spider-Man universe.
"It's quite shocking. The first one was Kraven, Marvel's new antihero in the Spider-Man Universe," Taylor-Johnson shared of opportunities he's recently earned. "With Bullet Train, there was an auditioning process, screen test, and many different things to get through. And then out came the offer for Kraven [without any audition]. That was special. I shot that last year with Russell Crowe, who was brilliant. Bullet Train had a really positive response. Certain things have a nice energy around them. From that comes interesting conversations. You're hot for a quick second and then it goes again."
After Pierce Brosnan's final James Bond film, it was four years before Daniel Craig debuted as 007 in Casino Royale. Given the acclaim Craig earned in the role, it could likely be a longer wait for a new actor to be announced, while other reports claim that it will be whatever filmmaker is tapped to direct the film that will have significant say in casting decisions, so with no filmmaker attached to the upcoming film, we might not have a casting decision in the near future.
Stay tuned for details on the future of the James Bond franchise.
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