Next James Bond hopeful James Norton gives update on 007 casting

Daniel Craig brought his tenure as James Bond to an end in 2021 following the release of No Time To Die.

Since then, fans, bookies, and the media have been speculating over who will be taking his place.

James Norton has been at the top of the Bond odds for some time and currently has 4/1 odds on claiming the role.

But the British actor has opened up about the casting process in a new interview with Variety.

When asked whether he’d tested for Bond producers, or even had any discussion with them, he confirmed: “No, no, no, none of that.”

Norton, who recently starred in Happy Valley, added: “Basically nothing else to say other than I think they’re probably still working it all out.”

Speaking about the series’ inevitable gear-shift since Craig’s exit, he went on: “It’s a big challenge to know which direction to take that huge franchise in. But beyond that, it’s lots of fun and bemusing media coverage. There’s nothing concrete behind it.”

The 37-year-old actor also criticised the media coverage the ongoing Bond betting continues to receive.

“It’s a really lovely piece of clickbait media in the UK,” Norton mused.

“And anyone can write any story about it and it will get the most incredible sort of hype around it.”

He also doubled down on where he is in the Bond discussions: “No, no conversations.”

At the time of writing, Norton is third in the Bond odds list. Ahead of him in second place is Henry Cavill, who has a staggering 3/1.

He previously missed his shot, though. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Casino Royale’s director Martin Campbell described his audition process as “tremendous”, before ultimately hiring Craig.

“He looked great in the audition,” Campbell said. “His acting was tremendous. And look, if Daniel didn’t exist Henry would have made an excellent Bond.”