Every New James Bond Rumor Has the Same Problem: Here's Why They're All Wrong

Summary:

• James Bond is one of the largest and highest-earning movie franchises ever.
• Since Daniel Craig left, fans have been speculating about his successor as the new Agent 007.
• None of the Hollywood star fans want to portray the iconic superspy will book this role because the Bond franchise wants unknown actors for the part.

Agent 007 has been hard at work in the past decades: saving the world, dispatching villains left, right, and center, and… Earning an unfathomable amount of money. The James Bond franchise has earned well over $20B in total over the decades and remains a symbol of class in Hollywood, so no wonder fans have been buzzing about Daniel Craig’s potential successors non-stop ever since the latter left.

Fans Project When Talking About New Bond

Even combined, we don’t think we have enough fingers to count every single time there was a rumor or a “leak” regarding the next Agent 007 actor. Insiders of all sorts love to ride this topic as it always attracts attention; but fans themselves are no better, too. Everyone and their family dog has an opinion about Craig’s successor.

People name Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Tom Hiddleston, Michael Fassbender, Cillian Murphy, and virtually every other Hollywood star that has even the tiniest bit of action experience as the new Agent 007 actors.

But the truth is, fans are merely projecting their desires: for better or worse, they’re always missing one of the franchise’s key demands when it comes to its lead stars.

James Bond Actors Can’t Be Already Famous

There are famously many criteria a new Agent 007 actor must fall under, including both mundane things like age (which killed Henry Cavill’s ambition twice) and specific demands like popularity. That’s right: if you didn’t know, the James Bond creators don’t allow already popular actors to take over the iconic role. Why?

Each James Bond iteration creates a new story different from the previous one and has a unique vision. To ensure this vision falls in line with how the audience perceives the movie, the Agent 007 creators need to have complete control over it — and famous actors come with reputation and an entire train of characters they already played.

For this reason, none of the popular Hollywood stars fans want to take over the Martini glass in the next version of Agent 007 will do it. They’re just too well-known.

Sorry, Cavill fans. We feel the same pain as you do.