Next James Bond: Tom Hardy loses steam as 007 bosses tease 'reinvention' of hero

Daniel Craig will forever be remembered as one of the biggest and best James Bond actors of all time. But after his gut-wrenching finale in No Time To Die, fans are looking forward to seeing who will replace him as 007.

The official announcement will likely be in the coming years, but until then the Bond odds have been placing Tom Hardy at the top of the leaderboard.

Unfortunately for him, he has just been overtaken by a big star.

Hardy is incredibly famous for performing in such blockbuster hits as Venom, the Batman trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk.

The 44-year-old Hammersmith-born star certainly has the right age, build, and reputation to become the next Bond – but he refuses to talk about it publicly.

In recent years he explained how he fears he would lose any chance of becoming 007 if he spoke about it in the press. And this tactic seems to have been working for him. He has been atop the Bond odds more often than not in the past few years.

Currently, Ladbrokes has placed Hardy’s odds at 8/1 on becoming Bond next.

But Idris Elba just overtook him – by a long shot.

Elba is, of course, one of the most popular British actors around. Not only has he built a solid hard-man reputation for himself with his TV show Luther, but he also has a strong Hollywood presence in superhero movies such as The Suicide Squad and the Thor series.

In the past, Elba has confessed he would “love” to be Bond. “James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey,” he said.

“Of course, if someone said to me: ‘Do you want to play James Bond?’ I’d be like: ‘Yeah!’ That’s fascinating to me.”

Now, his odds have been slashed dramatically by Ladbrokes.

READ MORE: James Bond bosses confirm gender of new 007 – but hint ‘reinvention’

The bookies have given Elba an incredible 5/1 on becoming Bond next.

At the time of writing, this places Elba in a third-place spot in the race, but leagues ahead of fifth-place Hardy.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “Idris Elba has long been a frontrunner in the race to replace Daniel Craig, and he’s once again closed the gap on the front two in the betting after a flurry of bets this week.”

These slashed odds come just days after the Bond bosses Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson commented on the “new” future of 007.

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At a recent event the two Bond executives confirmed the next 007 would be male – contrary to reports that he may be changed to a woman in the future.

However, they did tease a big upheaval for the character. “We’re working out where to go with him,” Broccoli revealed. “We’re talking that through. There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film. Because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time.” (Via Deadline)

If the bosses are “reinventing” Bond, could they be planning on steering him away from his white heritage? If so, Elba would be a perfect fit.

However, the two frontrunner actors in the Bond odds are quite the force to be reckoned with, so he has a lot of work to do.

In second place to become 007 is Regé-Jean Page. The British-Zimbabwean star is best known for starring in Bridgerton on Netflix.

Currently, he has an impressive 7/2, despite the fact he has claimed the notion of him becoming Bond is nothing more than a “flattering” idea.

At the top of the leaderboard is another Netflix star: Henry Cavill.

On top of previously playing Superman, he is of course the gruff actor behind Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher.

He has a staggering 5/2, making him the runaway winner at the moment. But will the Bond bosses go for the actor even though he previously auditioned and was unsuccessful? Fans will have to wait and see.

James Bond No Time To Die is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

The rest of the Bond movies are available to rent.