James Bond: THIS star to replace Daniel Craig? He's OVERTAKEN Tom Hiddleston with bookies

Hartley has had almost no high-profile speculation suggesting he’s in line to replace Daniel Craig, and barely any mentions of the casting possibility can be traced on Twitter.

And yet bookmakers such as Betfair, Paddy Power and UniBet have slashed odds on him taking over as James Bond, and he has odds of 13/2 with the latter.

That puts him on-par with Aidan Turner and Tom Hiddleston, who have both been frequently touted as contenders ever since Craig first hinted he was nearing the end of his time with the franchise.

With Paddy Power, Hartley is even ahead of Hiddleston – no mean feat considering the latter was considered a real frontrunner not too long ago.

The favourites remain James Norton and Tom Hardy (both 3/1), with Sam Heughan still right near the top following the release of The Spy Who Dumped Me (7/2).

Jack Huston is on 7/1, with Idris Elba still near the top of the list on 8/1.

Bosses will be in no rush whatsoever to cast the next 007, with Craig still yet to start work on his final outing as the secret agent.

Danny Boyle is helming the as-yet-untitled 25th film in the series, due out in cinemas in 2019.

The official 007 Twitter account confirmed in May: “We’ve been expecting you… #Bond25, Daniel Craig’s 5th outing as 007, will be directed by Academy Award-winning Danny Boyle from an original screenplay by John Hodge.

“Production is set to begin on 3 Dec 2018. MGM will partner with Universal Pictures to release the film worldwide.”

Additional casting has not been confirmed but it was recently thought that Mark Strong’s involvement had been leaked on Instagram.

Craig confirmed last summer that this next flick will be his last, saying: “I always wanted to [return], I needed a break.

“I just want to go out on a high note, and I can’t wait.”

James Bond 25 is due out in late 2019.