
Next James Bond Odds: Six contenders from the top of the betting

Unless you've been living under a rock you'll be aware that this week sees the premiere of the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, where Daniel Craig will don a tux for the last time as 007.
The eagerly awaited movie, which will be Craig's fifth and last for the franchise is out on general release on Thursday, but has very much got tongues wagging on who will be his successor.
BettingOdds.com has trawled the next James Bond odds markets to pick out the leading contenders for 007, plus a few crazy ideas at big prices.
Tom Hardy
Favourite for the job is Tom Hardy who is best price at 5/2 with William Hill to be named the next James Bond.
Hardy is famous for films such as Inception, the Dark Knight Rises and Mad Max and has racked up 59 films in his career thus far.
The Venom star is popular with men and women and whilst a lot of his roles might not exactly lend themselves to the suave, sophisticated MI6 spy, we know that he scrubs up well and is one hell of an actor.
The 44 year old played a spy Ricky Tarr in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy back in 2011 but it was probaly his role as Eames in Inception where you could see what kind of Bond he could be.
Hardy is very popular with the ladies and you'd expect that to still carry some weight with the producers, he even famously set pulses racing doing a stint on CBeebies 'Bedtime Stories' (kind of a modern day Jackanory)
Whether I'd be putting a bet on him at 5/2 I'm not sure. He's six year's older than Daniel Craig was when he took the role on in 2011 with Casino Royale.
Rene-Jean Page
Okay so hands held up, I had to google Rene-Jean Page as I was unfamiliar with his work.
The 31-year-old set tongues wagging starring as Simon Basset in the raunchy Bridgerton on Netflix in 2020 which saw him catapulted near the head of the betting at 2/1 second favourite with Paddy Power.
He's inexperienced and that may stand against him with just Sean Connery and George Lazenby the only two other inexperienced actors propelled into the role.
Of course, Sean Connery would go on to be the most iconic of James Bonds and enjoy a glittering career, whilst Lazenby flopped featuring as Bond just the once having come from modelling.
Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Craig were all pretty established actors in their own right before taking on the role. It might be a leap too far to see Page getting the nod.
James Norton
Englishman James Norton has been hanging around near the top of the betting for a few years now.
The 36-year-old would appear to be the right age and have the right profile.
Most of Norton's back catalogue has been in television, but that didn't stop the Broccoli's hiring Roger Moore who had made his name in shows such as The Saint and The Persuaders.
Norton burst onto the scene as psycho Tommy Lee Royce in the acclaimed Happy Valley back in 2016 but it was his role as Alex Godman in McMafia which thrust him into the reckoning for next James Bond.
Of the market leaders I think Norton represents the best value at odds of 10/3 with Paddy Power.
Next James Bond after Daniel Craig odds
Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston was the long time favourite in the next James Bond betting after appearing in The Night Manager as Jonathan Pine in 2016. An excellent mini series, a lot of people could see him donning the tux and waving a Walter-PPK around a tropical beach somewhere.
He certainly has the look and the style to pull off James Bond, but I'd be a little concerned in backing him whilst his stock in Hollywood is rising playing Loki in a spin off Thor, where he plays the likeable but devilish brother of Chris Hemsworth's Viking hero.
Loki is about as polar opposite to James Bond as you'll see which might be too much of a stretch for the producers and audience alike.
Incidentally, Hemsworth is best price 33/1 with William Hill to be the next Bond whilst Paddy Power have him considerably shorter at 10/1. However, the last Aussie to take up the role was Lazenby and... well, see above.
Lashana Lynch
A recent addition to the next James Bond betting market is Lashana Lynch. Another name I had to google apologetically, could there be a woman Bond?
As good as that could be, it does seem a stretch, but her rise in the betting has come off the back of her role in the new Bond film No Time To Die where she plays the character 'Nomi'.
There's been a lot of secrecy around the new film but Lynch lines up as an MI6 agent alongside Craig and the bookies have priced her up as though she could be getting a promotion at 6/1 to be the next Bond.
Idris Elba
The last on the shortlist is another actor who has been long-time linked with the Bond job.
Idris Elba shot to prominence back in 2002 in The Wire where he played Stringer Bell. From Baltimore drug dealer to double O? It might seem like a stretch but with there being plenty of calls for the next Bond to be black, plus Elba's successful stint as Luther in the BBC series where he plays a tormented detective, he looked a decent fit.
However, Luther last screened in 2019 and Elba would now comfortably be the oldest Bond yet aged 50+ by the time the next film is made. At 7/1 I think he's an easy one to ignore in the betting.
We won't know when the next Bond is announced until 2022 according to the producers so speculation is sure to roll on.
There wouldn't be a Paddy Power market without then putting up some funny names at big prices and the next James Bond odds market is no different. There's a host of names to choose from but I think it's fair to say that even at odds of 500/1 the following represent appalling value given there's not a cat in hell's chance of them being named next Bond!
- Bono
- Danny Dyer
- Prince Harry
- P Diddy
- Alan Carr
Funny though.