For most actors, getting to play a single iconic role is a dream come true. At the age of 37, Henry Cavill has played comics icon Superman, mystery novel icon Sherlock Holmes, and gaming icon Geralt the Witcher. But the British actor is not done yet. Cavill is a favorite among James Bond fans to take over the role of the iconic spy after Daniel Craig retires. In an interview with GQ, Cavill confirmed he would be very happy indeed to land the part.
“If Barbara [Bond producer Barbara Broccoli] and Mike [co-producer Michael G. Wilson] were interested in that, I would absolutely jump at the opportunity. At this stage, it’s all up in the air. We’ll see what happens. But yes, I would love to play Bond, it would be very, very exciting.”
Interestingly, there was a time early in his career when Cavill was nicknamed the “Unluckiest actor in Hollywood” because he auditioned for, and narrowly missed out on, several major roles such as Superman in Superman Returns and Edward Cullen in Twilight. At that time, Cavill also auditioned for the role of Bond in Casino Royale but was passed on due to his young age.
Man of Steel was considered Cavill’s big break back in 2013. But the divisive reaction to the movie did not do the actor’s career any favors. Instead, it was the role of Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher in 2019 that finally gave Cavill a role that was wholeheartedly embraced by fans.
In addition, Cavill had been steadily building up a solid portfolio in the action movie genre, with memorable roles in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible: Fallout. The result is that Cavill has seen something of a resurgence in the previous year, with fans demanding on Twitter that the actor get a Man of Steel sequel, and vegas bookmakers viewing the likelihood of Cavill becoming the next Bond as very likely.
Of course, as Cavill mentions, the Bond casting business is still very much up in the air, and just because fans want to see him in the role does not mean the studio will feel the same way. Right now, the head honchos in charge of the James Bond franchise are concentrating all their energy on No Time to Die, which will be Craig’s last movie as Agent 007, that has already been delayed several times.
Even if producers were to be interested in replacing Craig with Cavill, the latter actor might not be able to make time for the role in the near future. Apart from working on the second season of The Witcher, Cavill is also reportedly in talks with Warner Bros. to reprise his role as Superman for multiple new movies in the DCEU. The actor also played the role of Sherlock Holmes in the recently released Enola Holmes, which is being touted as Netflix’s next big franchise with multiple planned sequels. Clearly, if James Bond producers want Cavill to take over the role of 007, they will have to patiently wait their turn after other major Hollywood studios are done with him. This news comes from GQ Magazine.