As one of the biggest franchises to ever emerge from a literary series, James Bond has achieved worldwide popularity. Since the stories were first created by Ian Fleming in 1953, they've inspired radio shows, comic books, video games, action figures, and - most popular of all - films.
The very first James Bond movie came out over half a century ago, in 1962, and new installments of the series have been produced on a fairly regular basis ever since. Despite having run for so long, though, only seven people have ever held the titular role - but it's soon to be eight.
Since Daniel Craig announced that he will no longer be playing the part of 007, speculation over who will be next has been rife. Idris Elba seemed to be the popular choice for a while, but James Norton was the bookkeeper's favorite up until recently.
However, according to one source,
might have a shot at it.
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As the next James Bond flick is being directed by Christopher Nolan, many were interested in who he might be keen on for the role. Lee Smith, who has worked as an editor on all of Nolan's films, seemed to think that Styles had potential under the Interstellar director's guidance.
"Harry could do it," Smith said. "If they wanted a younger Bond then why not? He has got it."
Of course, Styles has worked with Nolan before. The former One Direction singer made his acting debut in Nolan's film, Dunkirk, and surprised many critics with how adept he was at handling the role.
"You would have thought you were dealing with a guy with many years of experience," Smith said of Styles' performance. "You would never know that [Dunkirk] was his first film."
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However, at just 23 years old, the artist is significantly younger than any other person who has ever taken up the role. In fact, the youngest actor to portray James Bond to date was
George Lazenby, who was 30 at the time. Plus, with Daniel Craig being 49 years of age, it would be quite a stark contrast to suddenly have such a baby-faced actor in the role.
For that reason, it seems like
has the best odds of being the new face of the MI6 agent.
He, too, has worked with Nolan before - most notably in Inception and The Dark Knight - and it's likely that the director would pick someone with whom he has a good rapport.
When asked about whether or not he thought he would be offered the role, however, Hardy declined to comment.
"You know, there’s a saying amongst us in the fraternity of acting, and in the fellowship of my peer group, that if you talk about [getting the James Bond role], you’re automatically out of the race," said the Venom star. "I can’t possibly comment on that one! If I mention it, it’s gone."
For now, then, it seems we will just have to wait until the casting is confirmed. But, if there is a call for a young
at any point - perhaps in a flashback scene - then Styles has got a good chance of getting it.
