Is Tom Hardy The Next James Bond?

“Who is the next James Bond?” has been the question on the mind of the lovers of the spy film series and even more so after Daniel Craig announced that he was “done” with the role.

According to a new report, British actor Tom Hardy has been considered as the most likely candidate to take over from Craig, after his fifth and final film, “No Time To Die“.

Hardy’s name began trending Saturday after a new rumour claimed that the “Venom” actor has already been signed to join the hit spy franchise.

The rumour originated with an unsubstantiated report on a website called The Vulcan Reporter. According to the report, Hardy was set to be unveiled as the new 007 in November, but the plan was disrupted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Hardy is one of a number of actors who have previously been rumoured to play the next Bond, with others including Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and Richard Madden.

In 2017, Hardy confirmed interest in playing James Bond, however, by refusing to discuss it in fear it will get him blacklisted. Speaking to the Daily Beast, he said: “If I mention it, it’s gone.”

“There’s a saying amongst us in the fraternity of acting,” said Hardy, “that if you talk about it you’re automatically out of the race. So I can’t possibly comment on that one!”

In 2018, after a number of publications shared fake April Fools’ articles claiming that Hardy had accepted the role. Hardy shared a screenshot of one of the articles and wrote that he was “good to go”.

“Dammit I was in my tux and on the runway good to go. No drama. Return to base. Headed back to Nola stood down 19,” he wrote on his Instagram page.