Is Tom Hiddleston Going To Be The Next James Bond?

Coming fast on the heels of the unconfirmed stories that Daniel Craig may be walking away from the James Bond franchise comes a rumor as to who producers might already be talking to for his replacement.

According to BirthMoviesDeath –

Tom Hiddleston is in fact in advanced talks to take over the role of James Bond from Daniel Craig.

Choosing words carefully, our source confirms that while talks have indeed taken place, and that Hiddleston very much wants the job (a fact of which he’s made no secret), no official offer has been made – yet.

As noted by BirthMoviesdeath, there are two ways to view this information, if true. One is to take it as confirmation that Craig has indeed left the franchise and producers Eon Productions are actively working to find his replacement. Alternately, Eon themselves could be floating the rumor as a tactic to pressure a still undecided Craig into a decision. If true, that is.

Another thing to consider as well, is some historical precedence. Back in 1987, Pierce Brosnan was offered the role of James Bond following Roger Moore’s departure from the franchise. The resulting publicity led excutives at NBC to reverse their recently announced decision to cancel Remington Steele, their series in which Brosnan played a private detective. Depending on reports, either the show’s shooting schedule conflicted with the planned movie shoot or Eon was not happy with the idea of a Bond that could be seen on television every week. Either way, the offer was retracted and Brosnan would have to wait another seven years before getting his license to kill.

This does beg the question, in today’s cinematic landscape that is littered with franchises, does Eon want their lead tied to any other cinematic series out there? Hiddleston is, of course, one of the highlights of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe with his charismatic portrayal of Thor’s primary antagonist, Loki. The actor is already set to appear in the next Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok, which is scheduled to start shooting later this summer. If Eon is in deed in talks with Hiddleston does that mean his current commitment to Marvel is over? If so, that could certainly be interpreted as at least a vague spoiler for Ragnarok.