Who will be the next James Bond? Since Daniel Craig finally and irrevocably stepped out of the role as 007 with “James Bond: No Time To Die”, this question has occupied fans, film sites and bookmakers all over the world. Until the answer is revealed at some point, it only helps to speculate, but at least it is becoming increasingly clear who is NOT a candidate for the new James Bond – and that includes “Spider-Man” star Tom Holland.
While Holland himself hasn’t come up with his name offensively, his “Spider-Man” co-star Jacob Batalon revealed in an interview that Holland is keen on the role and talks about it “very, very often.” And many fans could also imagine the young British star very well in the role (not least thanks to his role in the adventure film “Uncharted”).
But “James Bond” producer Michael G. Wilson has now rejected the wish of Holland and his fans – albeit not directly. Namely, the reason is, that actors under the age of 30 are not suitable for him as Bond, which means that the current 26-year-old Tom Holland has left.
Wilson, who runs the production company Eon together with Barbara Broccoli, which continues to control the fortunes of the film series even after the takeover of Bond studio MGM by Amazon, explained this at an event of the British Film Institute (BFI) and in an interview with the US industry magazine deadline:
“We’ve looked at younger people in the past. But imagining it doesn’t work. One must remember: Bond is a veteran. He’s got some experience. […] He was probably in the SAS [einer Spezialeinheit der britischen Armee] or something like that. He’s not a high school kid you recruit and then send out. That’s why the role works for someone over 30 years old.“
And with all due respect for Tom Holland, who also played a student or prospective student in his best-known role as Spider-Man: He seems a bit too young for that, even if the next “James Bond” is still a bit of a wait and Holland would be 30 years old by then.
At the BFI event, Wilson also revealed which scene is used to test potential Bond candidates for their suitability:
“We always use the same scene and it’s the one from ‘From Russia with Love’ where Bond returns to his hotel room after the assassination […]. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes in and the woman [Daniela Bianchi als Tatiana Romanova] lies on his bed. […] Anyone who can act out this scene is suitable for Bond. That’s really difficult.”
