Tom Holland As Bond Is a Boring Choice (So It'll Probably Happen)

Tom Holland is British and people recognize his name, so he couldn’t stop speculation that he’s the new James Bond even if he tried. And Holland notably isn’t trying. In fact, he’s leaning into the speculation and not exactly denying that his name is in the mix even as Aaron Taylor-Johnson is seemingly leading the pack.

While appearing on the latest episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Scrambled, Holland reportedly “smirked” and played things a little too coy when asked about the rumors that he could star in Denis Villeneuve’s take on Bond. Via Entertainment Weekly:

“We’ll get there one day,” he teased, but didn’t elaborate.

“Seriously, can you imagine what’s going to happen to your life if you do?” Ramsay asked, referring to Holland picking up the 007 mantle. “You’d love the opportunity, right?”

“I mean, every young British actor, it’s the pinnacle of working in our industry,” Holland said. “I already consider myself to be the luckiest kid alive, you know? I could never have dreamed to have the career that I’ve had.”

Let’s look at the boring studio calculus of this extremely boring choice that is probably inevitable:

1. The Spider-Man factor is no small thing. Christ, Tom Holland is literally filming a new Spidey movie right now. The photo above is from this past weekend, and the fan frenzy around that project is only going to get louder in the days ahead.

2. Amy Pascal is overseeing the new Bond film now that Amazon has full creative control of the character. She played a huge role in making Holland Spider-Man and locking down the game-changing deal to “share” him with Marvel. The two have a working relationship that puts money in the bank.

3. Denis Villeneuve already spun Timothée Chalamet into box office gold with Dune, so think what he could do with another hot young actor in a franchise that isn’t a niche sci-fi property.

All of that said, again, could there be a more boring choice? Setting aside that James Bond is played out and the concept has been run into the ground a billion times over, in the words of my middle school daughter, “Tom Holland looks like he’s 12.” (Because I raised her right, she calls Andrew Garfield the “hot Spider-Man.”) Is anyone really champing at the bit for a “Gee, golly, Mr. Q” Bond that looks like he hit puberty on the jetpack ride to the casino? I guess we’ll find out.