Following a recent post from Bridgerton star Reg&é-Jean Page that seemed to tease a potential interest in taking over the role of James Bond, odds on the actor taking over from Daniel Craig after No Time to Die have vastly improved. Page has quickly crept up the table as an outside favorite, with Ladbrokes’ reporting that Page is now at 5/1 to suit up as 007, having previously been at 40/1 before Christmas.
“Tom Hardy still leads the way as favorite, with James Norton close behind in second place. But it really is all to play for in the race for 007 and RJP has a great chance if the odds are anything to go by,” Ladbrokes representative Alex Apati has stated.
However, before Bridgerton fans get too excited, Apati noted that this kind of dramatic shift in the odds is pretty common off the back of a successful show. “It’s the reason Cillian Murphy was once favorite during the peak of ‘Peaky Blinders,'” he notes. Other stars to have been met with a similar situation include Richard Madden, who was favored for Bond after starring in the series, Bodyguard, and Paul Mescal, who also found himself in the running for Bond during the popularity of Irish drama Normal People.
“All of those aforementioned names have seen their odds slashed immediately after a huge hype around the show they most recently starred in, hence why it’s no surprise to see a similar pattern with Reg&é-Jean Page,” says Apati, before reasoning why Page may not just be another fluke. “However, what strengthens RJP’s chances somewhat more is that an announcement feels seemingly imminent [around] Daniel Craig’s replacement, so the timing of ‘Bridgerton”s success may well have worked in his favor.”
According the Ladbrokes, Tom Hardy continues to lead the pack at 6/4, with Grantchester star James Norton and Idris Elba following on at 7/4 and 7/2 respectively. Page now sits just behind them at 5/1, ahead of the likes of Outlander star Sam Heughan and Eternals’ Richard Madden at 6/1, Dunkirk’s Jack Lowden at 8/1, and Cillian Murphy at 10/1.
Page caused quite a stir recently by sharing a post of himself dressed to the nines as Bridgerton’s Duke of Hastings, walking confidently towards camera before raising a Roger Moore-esque eyebrow. What really got tongues wagging though was the caption, “Regency, royalty. Shaken and stirred,” which will be familiar to James Bond fans, and caused many to realise how well suited for globe-trotting espionage the actor is.
Of course, we still have Daniel Craig’s final outing to look forward to, with No Time to Die currently scheduled to be released on 2 April 2021. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, No Time to Die picks up five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with James Bond having now left active service. He is approached by Felix Leiter, his friend, and a CIA officer, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev was abducted, James Bond must confront a danger the likes of which the world has never seen before. This comes to us from Ladbrokes.