Five actors touted to play James Bond 007 in the future including James Norton

Ian Fleming’s suave and brutal British spy James Bond, better known of course by his code name 007, became the basis of a multi-billion pound movie franchise featuring some of the world's biggest film stars.

Daniel Craig’s tenure ended with his fifth and final Bond outing, No Time To Die, in 2021 and speculation immediately turned to who would follow in his footsteps and pick up the keys to the service issue Aston Martin. No final decision has been made, but there are several actors in the running.

James Norton

The Yorkshire-raised star of McMafia demonstrated his range in Sally Wainwright’s remarkable police drama Happy Valley as antagonist Tommy Lee Royce. Norton appears as comfortable on screen with drinking and violence as he does in a tux and has risen to be the bookies’ favourite for the coveted spy role.

The new favourite to play Bond is James Norton. The Happy Valley and Grantchester actor looked comfortable in a tux in the BBC's McMafia series - one of the reasons he's tipped to play Bond, with his odds now just 9/4. That's a probability of 70 per cent. Photo: Andreas Rentz

Henry Cavill

Long thought of as a James Bond-in-waiting, Cavill – who is best known for playing both Superman and The Witcher on screens big and small – is no longer thought to be the definitive favourite but is nevertheless a contender. Having played Sherlock Holmes opposite Millie Bobby Brown in Enola Holmes, he’s not stranger to classic British characters, and his espionage appearances in Mission Impossible and The Kingsmen lend credibility to the rumours.

Regé-Jean Page

Another British leading man whose name is rarely far from discussions about the future of the 007 franchise is Bridgerton and Waterloo Road star Regé-Jean Page. The 35-year-old most recently appeared in the fantasy smash hit Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves as hilariously earnest paladin Xenk Yendar.

Richard Madden

Game of Thrones alumnus Richard Madden, who burst into pop culture fame as the man-who-would-be-king Robb Stark in the fantasy series, would be the first Scottish Bond since Sean Connery’s original interpretation of the role. His performance in espionage thriller Bodyguard opposite Keeley Hawes was seen as an unofficial audition tape for 007.

Cillian Murphy

The Irish actor who fronted Peaky Blinders for so long is an outside contender for the role of 007 (following in the footsteps of fellow Irishman Pierce Brosnan, perhaps). The Wind That Shakes the Barley star is about to appear in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and it is worth noting long-time Murphy collaborator Nolan has been touted as a possible future Bond director.