Barbara Broccoli (from left), Daniel Craig, and Michael G. Wilson attend an Omega watch unveiling in 2019. With Craig leaving the role, the hunt for the next James Bond includes specific requirements that rule out Idris Elba and Tom Hardy.

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‘James Bond’: 2 Very Specific Requirements for Next 007 Just Ruled Out Idris Elba and Tom Hardy

Thanks to the producers looking at two very specific requirements, Idris Elba and Tom Hardy just got ruled out as the next James Bond

by Jason Rossi

Published on August 13, 2022

3 min read

Daniel Craig reinvented James Bond and played the role longer than anyone else

When all was said and done, Craig’s 15 years playing James Bond were longer than any other actor. Sean Connery and Roger Moore made more movies, but neither spent as long as Craig inhabiting the role.

Craig reinvented 007 with Casino Royale. His first time in the tux informed his other James Bond movies, and audiences loved the direction he took the character. His five movies earned more than $3.9 billion at the global box office, with Skyfall cracking $1.1 billion on its own, according to Box Office Mojo.

Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have been vague about the process for the next lead actor. We can expect another reinvention of the role and two qualities that rule out Idris Elba and Tom Hardy from being the next Bond.

Specific height and age requirements rule out Idris Elba and Tom Hardy from being the next Bond

Nearly every British-born actor of note has been mentioned as Craig’s James Bond replacement. Certifiable stars such as Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson, have been mention. So too have Bridgerton actors Tom Hopper and Regé-Jean Page, and a slew of British-born gentlemen, such as Henry Cavill.

Broccoli and Wilson work secretively, but two requirements for the next 007 ruled out Elba and Hardy. The next James Bond actor needs to be under 40 years old and taller than 5-foot-10, according to Yahoo.

Elba stands over six feet tall, but he turns 50 in September 2022. With the next Bond film still years away, his age takes him out of the running.

Hardy turns 45 in September 2022, and his 5-9 height falls outside the reported requirements for the role. That’s a double whammy against Hardy to be the next 007.

With Elba and Hardy, two longtime front-runners for the part, out of the way, the shortlist of actors who could be the next James Bond got a little bit shorter.

Who are the favorites for the next Bond?

British betting house Ladbrokes listed Elba as having the best odds to be the next Bond (7/2) as of Aug. 10, 2022, while Hardy sat third at 5/1. With both of them presumably out of the way, the list of possible candidates became even shorter.

Page dipped his toe into the world of espionage in The Gray Man, but he played a CIA desk jockey, so he didn’t do any action scenes. Cavill was in the running to play Bond until the very end when Craig won the part. His familiarity with Broccoli and Wilson is one of the reasons he has the inside track to be the next 007.

Ladbrokes didn’t list Pattinson, Holland, or Hopper among its front-runners, but Aidan Turner, James Norton, and Richard Madden joined Page and Cavill on the shortlist.

We’ll have to wait to find out the next James Bond actor, but it looks like Elba and Hardy won’t be playing baccarat or ordering martinis anytime soon.