About thirteen months ago, it was believed by many that Tom Hiddleston had a real shot at being cast as the new James Bond. He had received positive-to-glowing reviews for his work in The Night Manager – where he played a Bond-esque spy – and his profile was exploding internationally because of his relationship with Taylor Swift. Then he wore that “I heart T.S.” t-shirt at Taylor’s #Taymerica party and nothing was ever the same. Tom went from “versatile British actor capable of moody theatrics” to “Tay-Tay’s cutesy boyfriend.” It was said that Bond producer Barbara Broccoli had been actively looking for potential replacements for Daniel Craig, but that she dismissed Hiddles because: “she doesn’t like Tom Hiddleston, he’s a bit too smug and not tough enough to play James Bond.” Ouch.
So, in the end, Broccoli went back to the devil she knows. It’s been widely reported for months now that Broccoli had been talking to Daniel “I’d Rather Slash My Wrists Than Play Bond Again” Craig about coming back for one more turn. According to the Daily Mirror, it’s happened.
Daniel Craig has changed his mind and is set to sign up for his fifth Bond movie – with Adele lined up to join him. The actor, 48, claimed he would “rather slash my wrists” than play 007 again but his U-turn came after a host of British stars were tipped to replace him.
The Wire star Idris Elba, Peaky Blinders’ Tom Hardy, Happy Valley villain James Norton and Poldark’s Aidan Turner were all contenders. But Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is said to have secured Craig – and we can reveal she is “determined” that superstar singer Adele will record the theme tune.
The partnership made 2012’s Skyfall the most profitable Bond ever with takings of £885 million. Her song Skyfall was the first Bond theme to win at the Brit Awards, Grammy Awards and Golden Globes. Although Adele had to cancel the final two shows of her world tour because of damaged vocal chords, Barbara is said to be “talking the singer round”. She believes “Bond25” can start filming next year and will be a sure fire hit.
A source involved in the project said: “Craig and Adele together are the winning team, the ultimate choice, the money spinners. It’s taken time but Daniel has come round and the strong con–sensus in the Bond offices is that Mr Craig is 007 again. As for Adele, she’s more of an unknown quantity but loved being part of Bond, so the signs are positive.”
The insider said Craig’s actress wife Rachel Weisz, 47, is “on board with the decision” for him to spend a year away filming. Craig claimed in 2015 that if he did play the spy again “it would be for the money.” He was said to have been offered up to £120million for two more films. Skyfall and Spectre scriptwriter John Logan is also said to be involved in the project.
There’s such a lack of imagination with this decision. Spectre was awful, and the script was the worst. Skyfall was fine – not the best Bond movie, but not the worst. I feel like the whole franchise could use several injections of new blood, but Broccoli is trying to “play it safe” and “go with what works” instead of taking a chance. You know what would have been great? Getting Craig to come back for one more film, but killing off his Bond halfway through this film and introducing a new 007, played by Idris or Aidan Turner or somebody. Anyway, I hope Sam Mendes isn’t coming back as director. And they need to find someone else to write the script, honestly.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
The one truly good Bond film of Craig’s was Casino Royale. It was fresh and new (by the franchise’s standards), and he brought a different side of Bond after Brosnan finished. Daniel seems to be a one-trick pony though. Spectre was horrid.
Some of us have said this [like a million times] Hiddleston was NEVER in the running for Bond. He knew this and said it last Spring. Craig was ALWAYS coming back. This is the worst reported entertainment story in years !!
Thank you @third ginger! This is now just repeated over and over again as a way to bring up Hiddleswift and the t-shirt.
Hiddles was just being coy. These guys get a publicist to disseminate a story to create buzz and then act like a shy debutante when they are asked about it because they know studios dont like to have their hand forced by fan driven campaigns. It also makes it harder for the audience to accept whoever gets cast, so producers really hate that strategy. I think we saw that with a few actors up for Fifty Shades. Theres TMZ footage of Ian Somerhalder acting similarly coy when he is asked if he wants the role but then Harvey said that when he bumped into him somewhere, he told him that he was very keen for the part. So basically he was telling the camera one thing but telling the owner of TMZ the exact opposite. Basically hoping that TMZ will drive a campaign while he gets to keep his hands clean.
@thirdginger, Yes. I also do recall Tom saying many time that he was not going to be Bond.
@justme, I agree. The Hiddleswift and shirt thing is getting old. Time for it to be let go
That smug storyline did not come from broccoli (or however you spell her name), it came from Craig’s camp to negotiate. Tom and all other’s names being thrown around was also a negotiation ploy from the producers as Craig was stalling the process. Tom should take it as a compliment as his turn as Pine made him a threat in Craig’s mind. Tom does not need Bond, but Craig does. There is a sequel to The Night Manager anyways, and Pine is more interesting than Bond is.
Other headlines: “Sorry, Ivanka Trump: Gloria Steinem is coming back as the #1 feminist.” “Sorry, Taylor Swift: You’re still not being hired for that singing in a musical movie.”
Craig repeatedly complained that he was injured, tired, and done (his words) with the Bond franchise. I guess they bribed him back with 90 million.
I am referring to content, not the headlines.
Give Hiddleston and Elba credit for dismissing the story. A few actors mentioned in this story were far more coy. NO ONE was ever in talks.
I wonder if people care at this point. The back and forth. Remember when Daniel Craig made interesting films. Franchises destroy actors IMO.
I always thought Matthew Goode would have been a great pic for Bond. Look him up. He played Henry Talbot..
Love Matthew Goode! He was in Stoker, and was the best part.
I have liked him for years. Didn’t realize he is only 39.
Mathew Goode! Yeah, haven’t thought about that actor in a while but he could have been good. Good in Stoker and in some Woody Allen picture and in a movie (ashamed to admit young rom com I liked when I was younger) with Mandy Moore as a president’s daughter & he was her secret bodyguard.
Chasing liberty? Or freedom.
The movie and leap year. My guilty pleasure goodey movies
Daniel Craig was amazing in Munich…before he became Bond.
The ongoing story line needed to end with Skyfall. They should’ve moved forward with an independent idea. But instead they still tried to connect all these dots, and pretty much wasted Christoph Waltz as a villian.
Daniel Craig was always under contract for this movie. They may be starting the search for the next Bond, but the only way they were getting a new Bond for this one was if Craig declined the $50 million dollar payday and walked away himself (which wasn’t going to happen even if he was super grumpy about it).
This is brand new and shocking news!….said no one really.
For the new way they are doing Bond I would agree that Hiddleston would be a miscast. He’d do fine if they went back to the more delicate, slightly dandy, Moore/ Brosnan type but not as a tough guy warrior type like Craig. I liked that Kong movie well enough but he was dreadfully miscast as a tough solider of fortune. Just…no, an absolute no.
Oh and FFS leave Elba out of it. He’s already said in at least two interviews that the speculation just annoys him and he’s not doing it.
Hiddleston, my “pretend son”, is, of course, unsuited to be Bond, which is likely why he has also denied being in the running. THE SAINT, maybe. Yes. the Idris as Bond dream must die. I did not mind Tom so much in KONG, did laugh along with many of the reviews. One of the fancy critics for NYT called him the “prettiest hunter-tracker in the history of hunting and tracking.” But when he does Shakespeare or something offbeat like OLLA, he’s pretty darn good.
Strange because he was brilliant as the bellicose Coriolanus.
But I have to say my gast is absolutely flabbered by this totally unexpected revelation, that none of us have known about for the last 12 months! 🙂
@thirdginger, I don’t think my “pretend husband ” would be right as Bond either. Liked him in Skull Island, but I love him as Loki in all those Marvel movies. Wore my “I want to get Loki’d” shirt yesterday. I’m a 39 year old teenager. I’m so ashamed
I wouldn’t particularly want him as Bond either – mostly because I’d like to see him in more roles which could stretch his acting talents. However i do think he is suited for the role – Bond is an Eton educated gentleman, son of a Scot and a Swiss woman. He is supposed to be a suave gentleman – not a thug. And Tom is not exactly waif-like and frail either – remember Taffy referred to him as “strapping” in GQ. Still I’d much rather see Tom do some other kinds of films. He wanted to do an adventure film and did so with KSI (I think a lot of his best scenes probably wound up on the cutting room floor with that film) – ok Tom you got it out of your system now – go for something with more meat!!
I would advise him against taking it if he was offered. He had to turn down parts because of his filming commitments to Marvel and the same would be true if he took Bond. I actually think he maybe stretching himself with Hard Boiled and he is doing comedy with Early Man. Would love to see him in a modern day drama indie film.
@Madly – well I think Marvel is finishing up this year. He’s doing reshoots for Thor in Atlanta right now and there are lots of indications that he is in Infinity War and Avengers 4. That will take him through the end of this year (plus Thor promo). Then he will begin his “post-Loki” period. I’m sure he has something planned.
Wonder how much Craig is getting paid?
On another note, they need to retire this franchise after his contract is up. It’s very boring, IMO.
I liked SKYFALL, and watched the old Bond movies, but I’m 64. Do young people pay any attention to this franchise? If not, why ever bother with a reboot?
I’m 26 and love the franchise, have seen all the Craig films, despite the majority here I like him as Bond.
I love the franchise, too and I really enjoyed Spectre and don’t get the hate at all.
I think if they do another, it has to be set in another period…maybe Cold War era
Sam Mendez had to be cajoled into Spectre and now they had to do the same for Craig. I think Barbara figures its easier than facing the wrath of the people who know that this part belongs to Idris. He is around 40 but he is extremely fit and aging very well. He could probably play a convincing 40 at 55. Plus he rivals Connery himself in terms of swag, looks, physicality and virility. She knows it and she knows we know it. But at the same time Hollywood is too chicken to give us a black 007 given half the audience is Trump like scum. So then her best bet is to really age out of Idris. That way Team Idris cant cry foul, since it didnt go to some undeserving white tof like Hiddles, and she can wait out the controversy and pick some white dude in five years. Crisis averted, billions still made.
Is the fact that he is a “white tof” (sic) relevant, especially given the source material?
It’s relevant to the extent that most “white tofs” lack the rugged sex appeal that is now associated with Bond
Bond was written as a toff.
His first 5 (?) Film outings were cast with a rough bit of scruff with a strong Scottish accent.
For Moore and Brosnan he was a Toff again. Was a dandy and campness galore.
Timothy Dalton and Craig went back to that original rough and scruffy of the early bonds.
The less said about the Australian Bond the better.
No trade has reported on this, so it’s basically rehash and nothing new. Also the source is The Mirror. The longer the play this out, the more bored the public becomes.
Was Tom ever really considered for the role as Bond? I feel like there was only rumors and fan talk but never any actual proof that he had a chance at it. But maybe that’s just because I personally can’t picture him as Bond lol.
No, Craig still had a film in his contract
No. It was fan-casting because of The Night Manager (the roles couldn’t be more different). He denied it straight away.
Please read my comments above. Hiddleston has denied this many times, and his denials are public record. It was all rumors. I am sorry to keep posting, but this story illustrates the difference between fun gossip [love CB] and actual show business news. Basically, if something is not confirmed in VARIETY, DEADLINE, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, it is not true. I mean business stories, not romances or things like that. I have been reading those for decades. If you like someone’s work, those are really the best places for career news.
“Considered” is such a broad word in Hollywood it is almost useless. For example the Sony hack showed in emails that studio execs make long lists of every name they can think of when casting franchises. Anyone who has had a hit recently, a few of their favorites, actors they saw on the late show last night, or even people mentioned by the Internet. 99% of those people will never actually be in contention for the role but are pure wishful thinking or narrowing down what they want the character to be (the first two names on every list for every male character are DiCaprio and Bale…even for the DUMBEST stuff you can imagine). Those lists get leaked and suddenly all these people are being considered…even though the studio may never so much as say hello to them.
The only time to really get interested in when you hear so and so has: screen-tested, read for, or is “in talks”. The rest is just pointless noise.
I mean seriously, there will be a point when a new Bond is being looked for that you and I will be on the list. “Considered” is that broad!
He’s denied since last spring, but no one bothered to take that seriously.
Everyone was too busy talking about his relationship with Taylor Swift instead
Huh? Tom has always said no one has approached him. Tom Hardy was openly campaigning for it. Why isn’t he mocked more?
Good point @Madly – somehow Tom Hiddleston is always mocked for his terrible “thirst”. All I can ever find is Tom Hiddleston saying that he had not been approached for the part and that as far as he knew it belonged to Daniel Craig. Why isn’t Hardy “thirsty” – he was actually sort of campaigning for it?
Tom hardy is a good actor, but messy with women, possibly still drinking even when he has a history of substance abuse, thirsty in his own way, has a tiny weeny, and can be an ass who fights with costars on sets. He is way more scandalous than Hiddles but gets more respect. At the end of the day, Hiddles is harmless but gets mocked over next to nothing.
Idris is messier as well but to a lesser degree than Hardy.
How is Tom Hardy ”messy” exactly?
And regarding Elba, whatever his private life may be, he was still not trying to wear it on a t-short in order to get attention.
Just google “Tom Hardy unprofessional”. You get a lot of results of his many diva behavior on set, off set, in interviews, etc. He’s a good actor but he has anger issues.
I think wearing a cringey and lame tshirt is rather harmless as opposed to throwing punches at coworkers.
I may be wrong headed on this, but I really pay a great deal of attention to onset behavior. And I have never read even a whisper of Hiddleston being difficult. Now I know this does not prove anything about a person we can never actually know, but I tend to like the people with good reputations within the business.
@Jammypants:
I do not need to google it because I already know why Hardy is considered to be ”difficult”. In 2003, he slapped Paul Bettany once because he supposedly said something derogatory about him behind his back and on the shooting of Lawless in 2011, he threw a punch at LaBoeuf (or the other way round although with Leboeuf one never knows). This is quite meagre in almost 20 years of career. Also Hardy was unprofessional during the Fury Road shooting because frustrated by a lack of script, he was late for 2 hours on the shoot. He also did not have a good relationship with Theron but since people in life do not always get along, there is nothing particularly juicy about it. BTW, Hardy apologized about being late on set to Miller both privately and publicly so I suppose on this front, some responsibility was taken at least.
Taken together this is not much or at least not enough to portray Hardy as some unmanageable seething brute. Sometimes I wonder what the comments would look like on here, if Celebitchy was around during the 60ies hellraisers era (O’Toole, Burton, Harris…). The comments section would be a complete mess. 🙂
@OffTang, I guess we both have different views on “messy” and “meager”, but at least we can both agree he’s had quite a certain reputation on his work ethic. I think the industry tolerates his behavior because he’s a talented actor. I guess choking Innaritu was worth the Oscar nom for The Revenant.
The golden era Hollywood stars were spared the minute scrutiny that social media encourages. I imagine PR in those days being a lot more rigid. Maybe that’s what today’s stars lack. The veil of tightly controlled PR.
@Jammypants:
Hm, Innaritu (and the crew of the Revenant) did NOT confirm any choking story. So there is that. And a lot of directors and actors who worked with him have praised his work ethic and dedication (and many directors want to work with him again for that reason, which is counterintuitive to his supposedly ”diva like” behavior).
That said, I DO think that Hardy is not that easy to work with and he doesn’t strike me as someone particularly accommodating. But there is a difference between this and being a insufferable self entitled brute as he is often portrayed here and in other ”celebrity” sites. Everything (even Hiddleston’s harmless and ridiculous Tay Tay tee-shirt) gets overblown out of proportions and this is also true for the occasional Hardy’s outbursts. However, there is no ambiguity in the industry regarding Hardy’s dedication to his work and apparently, this is what counts as far as work opportunities are concerned.
I think that tightly controlled PR is no longer possible for a number of reason, one being the proliferation of open media. While it is still possible to lead a relatively private life (Hardy is a testament to that), we live in a media environment which tends to magnify every single detail. The 60ies hell raisers such as Oliver Reed (whom Hardy resembles in terms of acting style) did not want any kind of PR at all but then, this was a period when some kind of behavior was considered almost acceptable (e.g Reed coming completely drunk to his BBC interviews). I cannot imagine actors today doing even the half of what Reed, O’Toole and Harris did and still getting hired.
Because Tom Hiddleston is not the stereotypical alpha male type?
I take him more as a Sigma male? He’s non-conformative http://www.riseofsigma.com/2013/05/alpha-vs.html
You are so right. I hate all the swipes at his so -called “non-traditional masculinity.” I never liked oafs, tried not to date them, and certainly did not marry one. We have plenty in show business already.
Oh dear lord, nobody is a sigma (even by stupid Greek letters standards). Sigmas are men who, in their crooked look at society, cannot call themselves alphas but do not want to be anything else because beta, omega and what have you men are in their minds inferior. So they invented sigma (and coalpha) to make themselves feel better. They’re Greek letter version of sore loosers.
ETA: I don’t really describe men with Greek letters and the meanings behind them, it’s stupid and nobody REALLY fits fully in any category. It’s just men rating other men system, and the same men always rate women with numbers. Simple system for simpletons.
I never really liked the beta and alpha rating system, but I was simply throwing in an example from it if we had to “label” something. My friend from college calls everything alpha or beta and refers to herself as alpha and only men she’s attracted to are “alpha”. She gets proper eye rolling from me because it’s very amateur to rate people’s dominance and measure their gender assigned worthiness. So I sometimes amusingly offer her the other types to describe the men she’s into just to annoy her 😁
Tom himself said he was never the alpha male type. (So beloved by Hollywood)
@Madly: Translation of your rants in an intelligible language: ”I loath Tom Hardy and Craig because they both get far more respect than my precious Hiddles and deservedly so.”
Lying, making things up and engaging in stupid childish innuendo (who in his normal mind would talk about ”tiny weenies” after puberty?) won’t do you any favors.
PS: I suspect that Hiddleston will ”get mocked” for some time to come. He gives too many reasons for it every time he opens his mouth (cough his Golden Globe speech cough)
Talking of rants……..!
Yes, Martina, no wonder that you recognize a rant when you see one. 😉
At least my rants are intelligible and not based on lies. But whatever rock your boat…
Moi? What rants have I ever done, and Madly’s comment was perfectly intelligible to me? 😀
Many people feel that there was nothing really wrong with the Golden Globes speech. It was very clear that he wanted to dedicate his award to those people who are really helping others. He was glad however that when he visited South Sudan, doctors and aid workers told him that they got pleasure out of what he and the others on his show did. Isn’t the desire to give pleasure and respite from ordinary cares to other people one of the reasons one performs? Again – like the t-shirt I never understood why this became such a huge “thing”.
Post-Trumpism. Tom is an easy punching bag. Plus I think he opened the floodgates with last summer.
The telling phrase now is “last summer”. “Oh not that again” comes to mind.
Oh look, i pissed off a Hardy twihard who can’t stand the truth of her pretend husband. Hardy is a mess. He is a cad. There was overlap between his girlfriend and his current wife and it is no secret that he sleeps around. He has had several fights with co stars, and got called out by a reporter for his behavior. And his penis is small as evidenced by his going frontal in one of his films. Dude has little man syndrome and just because he likes dogs does not make him any less of an ass. But go ahead and stick your pretentious head in the sand.
Cheers Martha!
@Madly: he he 🙂 Pissed who? Speaking of truth, it is impossible to know the ultimate ”truth” about people let alone actors whose job is to pretend and ”lie” for a living. I suppose that this is all too abstract for you but since you attempted to touch the subject somewhat I would be very grateful if you could provide me with some evidence for the ”truth” of your claims. Where is the evidence for Hardy’s supposedly continuing drinking issues? Where is the evidence for his ”cadish behavior” and his current ”messy relationships with women”? And while we are at it where is the evidence the the ”Craig’s camp” (with Craig’s complicity nonetheless! ) released derogatory statement on your precious Hiddles? I’m afraid that just wringing your hands around and calling me a ”twihard” (as if it was an insult) won’t help you much in such tasks.
That said your continuing reference to penis sizes and the syndromes people are supposed to have because of it makes me think that you have some issues of your own (also I’m afraid, but I do not think that you know what a ”little man syndrome is” is). This is certainly not healthy (but then you constant trashing of those actors who seem to be more ”respected” than your precious ”Hiddles is not that healthy either).
@offherrocker,
Hahaha. Your attempts at being an intellectual is pretty funny. It actually shows that you aren’t.
I don’t have a penis, so can’t project anything about package size.
And my little man syndrome was spot on and hit a nerve.
Even if I could produce rock solid evidence, it would be pointless as you would try so hard to be right and not believe anything negative about your idol. He is human and deeply flawed and messy. Sorry toots.
And I actually think other actors are stronger than Hiddles, but you took my comments out of context. The context is the thirst for Bond. Tom Hiddleston has denied it being approached and said it would not happen. Tom hardy has been thirsty for the role and has campaigned for it.
It’s ok, reading is clearly not your thing.
@Madly: ”Even if I could produce rock solid evidence, it would be pointless”
Translation: ”I couldn’t find anything concrete to support my lies and blabbering but I refuse to acknowledge it anyway” 🙂
BTW, where is the evidence that Hardy ”campaigned” for Bond? Or providing the evidence here is ”pointless” too?
I won’t argue over the cute boys. Hardy is a very fine actor. Tom is far more respected for his stage work. As someone said above, Craig did much more interesting work pre-Bond. I wish he would go back to it.
Yes, I would wish that too. That said, Craig did some (critically well received) stage work between his Bonds so maybe he could continue in this direction.
Hiddleston was very good (but not great) in Coriolanus. I was no very impressed by everything else I have seen of him on stage.
Can you tell me what other things you have seen him in on stage?
He got awards for his double part in Cymbeline and for Cassius in Othello, although I have only seen him in Coriolanus so would be interested to know
I was just trying to say that each of the three actors is actually “respected.”
Sorry TG that was in response to OffTang
Hey a post with my name in stayed!
Oh, I knew that. Mine was in response to that poster, too. Gosh, everyone really does have their favorites. As I often say, these guys could all call me “MOM” Or, more appropriately, “MUM” Best to you, as always.
Best to you too. On holiday this week and have been to Stonehenge – surrounded by Americans😀
Aren’t we a treat? I hope they were all polite.
Very polite – one American gentleman gave me his seat on the shuttle bus.
I think Bond needs a change. Is it just me or does Bond get more muscular with each new change? I see Bond as someone who is not the weight lifter type but just in great physical shape, and more posh.
That is how Fleming wrote him!
Fleming described James Bond has looking like Hoagy Carmichael. Google him and you’ll see that he was hardly a musclebound type. (He was in a couple of classic movies – “The Best Years of Our Lives” and also “To Have and Have Not” Great songwriter too – “Stardust” “Georgia on my Mind” etc.
Showing how old I am as i can remember Hoagie in a series called Laramie in the late 50/60s! Robert Fuller 😍
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052481/
Okay honestly am I the only one who thinks that at this point Daniel Craig is just too….old? Bond should really be in his thirties or early forties and this dude looks too worn down to keep any kind of suspension of disbelief going on. Yes, he’s sophisticated and very pretty but my god he’s tired. They haven’t even started filming which means it won’t be out for another two years, and by that time he’ll be 51. Come on. And god knows his love interest will most likely be half his age.
Hubba hubba!!!!
I’m fond of Craig and think he was marvelous as Bond AND is an underrated actor – he gave a truly touching performance in the very grim series “Our Friends in the North” where I first noticed him. However, he is looking long in the tooth for Bond, now, but I suppose the money is irresistible. I don’t think Hiddles ever had a real shot and after the Swift debacle he had none – for, well, reasons. Probably none of the other “names” we’d know measured up, either. But with Craig they are going to have to keep adjusting the script to reflect the aging, tiring, more introspective Bond. Craig is near 50 and looks every bit of it. FWIW, I saw him once in person about ten feet away (albeit nearly ten years ago) and he looked exactly, but exactly, as he does onscreen – too often, they don’t, you know?
Good. Hiddles is way better than this limited, mysoginistic role.
👏👍
Surely, the Bond producers know they are facing a potential PR debacle by doing another movie with Craig. Every single review, article and interview is going to bring up the “I’ll only do another one for the money” quote. Also, I would think Craig’s reluctant attitude towards doing any promotion (I really think some of his tone-deaf comments last time around lost Spectre money), would be enough for them to recast the role.
I never believed the story about Hiddleston–I simply don’t think Broccoli would publicly diss him like that, whatever she might have thought personally. It was too brutal a remark to put out in public..
So Craig is probably back, probably with another “this time it’s personal” storyline. Aside from Casino Royale, the Craig years have taken the wrong direction (not necessarily his fault) of pulling back from the world and diving into Bond’s life; even Skyfall suffered from that tendency.
Time to reboot.