Since Daniel Craig’s final bow as 007 in 2021’s No Time to Die, rumors have swirled about which actor will probably be assuming the James Bond mantle subsequent. On the middle of hypothesis is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who after a reported top-secret assembly with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, is at present the odds-on favourite to play Bond, adopted by fellow British actors James Norton and Henry Cavill.
But when one had been to wager that Taylor-Johnson would acknowledge the thrill earlier than an official announcement is made, they’d lose. Throughout a latest Esquire interview accomplished previous to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Taylor-Johnson redirected inquiries about what’s subsequent to his upcoming function in Marvel’s Kraven, which has been delayed from Oct. 6 to Labor Day 2024.
“You’ll be able to’t step into this function, you possibly can’t step into what this franchise is, with a fucking half-assed, Let’s see the way it goes angle,” Taylor-Johnson stated of Kraven. “It’s important to be mentally ready for what might include that. I believe I’m safe in my life now to know that I’m pleased to cope with that. I don’t suppose I used to be in all probability prepared to ask that into my life earlier on.”
When requested about the potential of becoming a member of different main franchises comparable to Bond, Taylor-Johnson vaguely defined: “As I’ve already instructed you, I’ve to go by the beat of my very own drum. It’s my very own path, what feels intuitive to me. I’ve by no means decided based mostly on different individuals’s views, or their judgments, or their expectations. You lose your fucking thoughts if you happen to do this. Your sense of value and soul is gone. You could perceive what’s integral to you and what feels proper, and also you’ve acquired to remain on observe with what’s current in entrance of you. Kraven is what’s in entrance of me.”
When pressed about whether or not even the mere prospect of taking part in a personality as iconic as 007 was “thrilling to think about,” Taylor-Johnson insisted, “I simply concentrate on the issues I can have in my palms proper now. What’s in entrance of me proper now.” So, ought to it’s assumed that Cavill is getting the function, as Esquire’s Alex Pappademas requested? “I imply, if you happen to’re a betting man…” the actor merely replied.
Taylor-Johnson’s resistance to feed the rumor mill isn’t new. Talking with Self-importance Honest for our 2023 Hollywood cowl, he known as the Bond whispers “flattering,” however didn’t affirm or deny their validity. “You simply wish to keep in your lane, keep grounded, keep across the individuals that you simply love and love you again, and keep in that world,” Taylor-Johnson stated. “As a result of the second you begin believing the shit individuals say about you, you’ve misplaced your fucking thoughts. You’ve misplaced it.”
