The Guide #231: How the hunt for the next James Bond became the franchise’s best marketing tool
Callum Turner’s turn as James Bond lasted at most a couple of weeks.No sooner had he been enshrined as frontrunner to succeed Daniel Craig, than he was nudged from the DB5 driver’s seat by the latest heir apparent, Jacob Elordi, installed as the new bookies’ favourite after his smouldering, highly profitable performance in Wuthering Heights.Smarting somewhere in the background is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who seemed locked in for the job a couple of years ago, enjoying the backing of former 007s Pierce Brosnan and George Lazenby, but now seems to have fallen out of favour.And don’t forget the succession of other dead cert Bonds now banished to the back of the odds market: the long-rumoured likes of Tom Hardy and Idris Elba (both now likely to have aged out of the role); Theo James; James Norton; Josh O’Connor; Harris Dickinson; Bridgerton’s Rége-Jean Page; and approximately 5,000 other predominately British actors who have enjoyed box office success/led a successful TV drama/look good in a tuxedo.On and on the hunt goes.
Five years after Craig’s final outing, one that left absolutely no wriggle room for his return, and not far off a year since Denis Villeneuve was pegged as director of the next, still-untitled instalment, the next 007 has still not been found.Or if he has (and it seems certain to be a he), everyone involved in the Bond operation is keeping characteristically tight-lipped about it.It has been an unusually long wait – one presumably stretched out further by the baton-passing of creative control from long time Bond-stewarding siblings Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson to MGM and its parent company, Amazon – though perhaps it is not an entirely unwelcome one.Because the “search for the next Bond” is as crucial a part of the franchise as martinis, femme fatales and product placement; a vital act of self-promotion that keeps Bond in the headlines even when no film is forthcoming.The idea of Bond as cinema’s most desirable role has always been carefully cultivated by the franchise’s stewards.
Stories of the A-listers (Paul Newman, James Brolin, Mel Gibson, and other famous names) who were approached or screen-tested for 007 have become part of the Bond lore, as have the lengths that producers went to to find the right man for the job.The very first Bond film was preceded by a contest, announced in the Daily Express, to find the man to play its title character.Among the qualities required for competitors was a height of six feet, an English accent and “a determined chin”.The winner, London model Peter Anthony, definitely looked the part, but his lack of acting chops led longtime Bond producer Cubby Broccoli and Eon Productions to look to more established figures.As would become a running tradition whenever a new Bond was sought, there were contrasting views over what sort of characteristics were required: his creator Ian Fleming prioritised “suaveness”; Broccoli wanted “a ballsy guy”.
Broccoli won out, and Sean Connery was hired.When Connery stepped away from the role for the first time, it was claimed that Broccoli and his co-producer Harry Saltzman auditioned 400 people to be his replacement, before ultimately landing on George Lazenby, a Australian former car salesman who Broccoli and Saltzman spotted looking dashing in an advert for Fry’s Chocolate – unlike with Peter Anthony, it didn’t seem to matter that Lazenby had never delivered a single line before playing Bond.In contrast to Lazenby, Roger Moore’s pre-Bond apprenticeship made a lot more sense: he was already appearing as a similarly smooth character in TV series The Saint.The same could be said of the first choice for Moore’s replacement, Pierce Brosnan, who appeared as a Bond-a-like in US TV detective drama Remington Steele.Famously, when Brosnan was offered the role of 007, NBC who had just cancelled Remington Steele, promptly uncancelled the show due to the surge of attention on its lead, forcing Broccoli to offer the part to Timothy Dalton instead.
It was a to-and-fro that came right at the time in the mid-80s when celebrity and entertainment news was ascendant, covered breathlessly in UK tabloids, US publications like Premiere magazine and on nightly news bulletins,The search for the next Bond had become a media event, one capitalised on by bookmakers, who had started making novelty or ‘special’ bets a bigger part of their offering (kickstarted by William Hill’s much-publicised book on who shot JR): when Dalton officially stepped back from the role in 1994, bookies offered 20-1 on Kenneth Branagh, 25-1 on Lenny Henry and 50-1 on Emma Thompson replacing him, though the smart punters would have backed Brosnan at a less generous 2-1,By the time Brosnan (reluctantly) departed the role, the hoopla around finding his successor had intensified yet again thanks to the rise of the internet,Chatrooms were abuzz with speculation, piggybacked on by the tabloids: reportedly in the Eon offices there was reportedly a list of every potential actor tipped for the role by newspapers, 72 in total, including “a dwarf and two women”,The studio’s ultimate casting of Daniel Craig, announced via a dramatic Thames speedboat stunt, was bold and contentious – a gruff, blond-headed stepchild in a family of charming brunettes – and prompted negative headlines and internet boycott campaigns.
Of course Wilson and Broccoli were proved resoundingly right in their pick.A subject of high-profile mockery in the 90s and early 00s, Bond has been restored to event-cinema status by the wild success of the Craig years.Which is presumably why such caution is being exercised in finding his replacement by the franchise’s current handlers.They can probably take their time – the breathless hype machine will ensure that no one will lose interest in Bond any time soon.To read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive The Guide in your inbox every Friday
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao to fight in September rematch on Netflix
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will face each other on 19 September in Las Vegas in a rematch of one of the biggest fights in boxing history.Their first fight, in 2015, was generally seen as a tame affair with both fighters past their peaks. September’s bout, which will be streamed live on Netflix, is likely to be of an even lower quality. Mayweather and Pacquiao will be 49 and 47 respectively when they fight. Mayweather’s last professional fight, which preserved his unbeaten record, came in 2017, although that was a glorified exhibition against UFC star Conor McGregor
The US moved away from its heartland to set a Winter Olympics high in Italy
In 2002, on home ice and snow in Utah, the USA obliterated its records for most gold medals (10, beating the previous high of six) and most overall medals (34, more than two times the previous high of 13) by the country in a single Winter Olympics.In 2026, the USA broke that national record for gold medals with 12, and broke the 30-medal mark for the first time outside North America (Norway broke the overall record with 18 golds).If that stat seems surprising, perhaps it’s because the bulk of those US medals were won by people who are not household names. You won’t see Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart cheering them on US TV. You may not even know their sports
England in sight of semi-finals but face another trial by spin against Pakistan
After four wins in five games, and now just one away from sealing a place in the semi‑finals, it is hard to describe England’s progress through the World Cup as ugly. But it hasn’t been straightforward. Like an inverted swan, everyone can see them struggling – yet somehow their progress has been, up to this point, serene.There are no bonus points available for artistic merit and to win tournaments it is necessary only to be, at each stage, slightly better than your opponents. Australia’s T20 champions of 2021, for example, were a side few considered the best in that competition – and were notably annihilated by England in the group stages – until Aaron Finch raised the trophy in Dubai
England expected to field second-string XV against Fiji due to travel schedule chaos
England have been handed a gruelling 25,000-mile travel itinerary for their inaugural Nations Championship fixtures in July and are expected to split their squad and field a weakened team against Fiji as a result.As revealed exclusively by the Guardian, England’s match against Fiji – the week after they face South Africa in Johannesburg and the week before playing away in Argentina – will be staged at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium.Given the logistical problems that playing three matches in three continents in a fortnight entail, it is believed England will split their squad and leave a largely second‑string side at home to face the Pacific Islanders.While Fiji will be the “home” side against England, they have opted to bring their three summer matches – they also face Wales and Scotland – to the UK for commercial reasons. Wales have the benefit of facing Fiji first before travelling to South Africa and then Argentina, while Scotland begin against the Pumas then head to Durban to play the Springboks before completing their campaign against the Pacific Islanders
Lindsey Vonn says she almost had leg amputated after crash at Winter Olympics
Lindsey Vonn says she came close to having her leg amputated in the aftermath of her crash during the Olympic downhill earlier this month.The 41-year-old sustained a complex tibia fracture to her left leg in the crash and underwent multiple surgeries in Italy before being flown back to the US for further treatment last week. But in an Instagram post on Monday, the American said the crash also led to compartment syndrome in her leg. The condition occurs after traumatic injuries such as falls from heights and car crashes. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “compartment syndrome happens when there’s too much pressure around your muscles
Farhan has Hundred hopes despite Indian owners not signing Pakistan players
Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan remains hopeful of securing a contract to play in the Hundred this year, despite reports that the tournament’s four Indian-owned teams will not consider signing players from the country, but he admitted that selection decisions are “not in our hands”.Farhan, who is the leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup, is one of 63 Pakistani players on the 710-name longlist put forward for the men’s auction on 12 March. Despite the rumours, more Pakistani players have made themselves available than those from any other foreign nation, with all but two of the country’s 15-man World Cup squad hoping for a deal.The eight Hundred teams have each been asked to whittle that longlist down to the 75 players in whom they are most interested, with the England and Wales Cricket Board expected to publish the resulting shortlist this week.Farhan said he was “very hopeful” of being signed
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