Next James Bond: New actor surges in race to replace Daniel Craig as Stuart Martin dealt blow
Surprise Bond favourite Stuart Martin has suffered a major blow to has chances of replacing Daniel Craig.
The news comes as a confirmed identity of Daniel Craig’s successor remains a mystery with bosses at production studio Eon still yet to settle on a name.
Craig finally hung up the iconic tuxedo with his last outing No Time to die in 2021.
Since, speculation has swirled on who will take on the mantle with seemingly no official progress yet being made.
The race has been further complicated by a reported feud among Bond bosses, with long-time producer Barbara Broccoli at odds with executives at Amazon following its acquisition of MGM.
Broccoli even reportedly called execs at the streaming giants “f***ing idiots” due to differences when it came to the creative direction of the Bond franchise.
Recently, little known Scottish actor Stuart Martin emerged as strong favourite to be the next 007 according to an LA movie consultant. as strong favourite to be the next 007 according to an LA movie consultant.
They told the Daily Mail: “Stuart is the name that has been discussed in Bond circles by those in the know. He is in serious contention.
“No-one will confirm this because Eon goes all out to deny and shy away from anything concerning casting, but it would be an amazing milestone to have a Scottish Bond again.”
Martin would be the first Scot since Sean Connery to take on the role but still has “hurdles to jump through” with Eon.
The 39-year-old would be the first Scot 007 since perhaps the role’s most iconic actor, Sean Connery, who retired from the role in 1983.
However, hopes of such milestone may now have been dashed as new data suggests other actors have regained the lead in the Bond race.
Experts from Gambling.com, suggest old favourite James Norton is still heavily favoured to become Bond.
The Happy Valley star has previously been seen as a favourite but now appears to have established a strong footing with 5/2 odds of being cast.
Previous front runner Aaron Taylor Johnson has sunk in his odds, now drifting to 7/2 odds.
On the back of Netflix’s The Gentleman, Theo James has gained substantially on Taylor Johnson – now matching with a 7/2 chance.
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Damson Idris, ahead of starring alongside Brad Pitt in his upcoming F1 movie, is also quickly rising in the favourite ranks while remaining an outside choice – with 25/1 odds.
Emily in Paris star Lucien Laviscount has seen his odds fall from 10/1 to 16/1 since last year while Gladiator 2 lead Paul Mescal’s chances have lengthened from 15/2 to 10/1.