The Internet is lighting up with rumors that the next James Bond has been found in Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The star of cult-hit films like Kick-Ass, Savages, and Bullet Train, as well as major franchise films like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Godzilla (2014), Johnson is set to lead his own major superhero franchise in Sony’s Kraven the Hunter, the latest Spider-Man Universe spinoff film.
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That said, the string of misses from Sony’s Spider-Man spinoffs Morbius (2022) and Madame Web (2024) have people skeptical that the repeatedly delayed Kraven will be a big turnaround for the franchise. Johnson could very well be looking at his next job, and playing James Bond would be a big win for him.
The Sun UK is running the headline “New Bond Revealed” claiming that Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been formally offered the role of Bond and “is going to sign his contract in the coming days.”
While Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will not offer any official statements, The Sun is certainly taking the casting rumor as if it’s official – already dropping an “exposé” on Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s personal life and his marriage to filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson (formerly Taylor-Wood) who is 24 years older than him. Even the rumor of being Bond clearly comes at a price.
Who Is Aaron Taylor-Johnson?
As social media reactions clearly illustrate, Taylor-Johnson is not yet a mainstream-level star, beyond his (brief) role as Quicksilver in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That could be a good thing, though: Johnson is well-established enough to inspire confidence in his ability to carry the Bond franchise, but still far enough under the radar to immerse himself in the role of 007 without his real-life star power getting in the way.
It was much the same kind of career point that Daniel Craig was in back when he debuted as Bond in Casino Royale (2006); Craig had starred in a cult-hit film (Matthew Vaughn’s 2004 crime-caper Layer Cake), and a.mix of roles in prestige films (Road to Perdition, Munich) and franchise movies (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) before getting to carry things on his own with Bond. Like Craig Johnson is also an English-born actor with numerous accolades from the prestige side of acting,
Aaron Taylor-Johnson may not have been at the top of fan casting for the next James Bond – such as Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy, former Superman Henry Cavill, or Loki actor Tom Hiddleston. That said, Johnson has consistently been included in second-tier fan-castings for Bond, alongside Luke Evans (Dracula Untold), Taron Edgerton (Kingsman), and even Idris Elba.
Kraven the Hunter will be in theaters on August 30th.
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