Next James Bond: Tom Hardy loses ground to X-Men star – but he doesn’t want 007 role

After Daniel Craig‘s final foray as James Bond in the excellent No Time To Die, fans have been yearning for information on who will take over as 007. The official announcement will likely come within the next year, but until then, the Bond odds have been raging with a number of likely candidates.

Tom Hardy has been a favourite with both the bookies and the fans in the last year, but his time may be up.

Hardy is still maintaining a third-place spot with Ladbrokes, boasting 6/1 odds on claiming the role. He is currently beating out the likes of Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden (7/1) and The Suicide Squad‘s Idris Elba (8/1).

However, he is slowly but surely losing ground to an iconic actor from the X-Men series.

Michael Fassbender, who is best known for playing Magneto in the X-Men First Class series, has recently had his odds slashed once again from Ladbrokes.

The star previously had 10/1 on claiming the 007 role. But, after a flurry of bets, the actor has now been given an incredible 9/1. Despite his popularity, Fassbender previously announced he would “not” want to become James Bond, if given the chance.

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Fassbender said of wanting the role: “To be honest, no. As an acting role, I think Daniel has done such a cracking job in this age group … No, I think the franchise needs something new.”

Although he has given Bond “a lot of thought,” he explained he was not right for the role. He added: “Bond should be someone in their early twenties … I always thought Bond should be British, but let’s get an American in. Or maybe someone like Jack O’Connell would be good?”

Fassbender even added that he thought the character’s gender ought to be changed. He said: “Or even better, how about Jane Bond? A woman.”

Despite his reservations, he is certainly on Ladbrokes’ list. But he has a long way to go if he wants to take on the two frontrunners.

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Henry Cavill is sitting atop the Bond Christmas tree with an incredible 3/1. The actor previously auditioned to become the next Bond when Craig was in the running – but he was turned down. What’s more, he was told he was “too fat” for the role.

Could he prove Bond bosses wrong with another go at the role 15 years later?

Alternatively, there’s a newcomer on the board: Regé-Jean Page. The Bridgerton hunk joins Cavill with 3/1 odds on becoming Bond, but the actor himself has said conversations have not yet happened behind the scenes – despite how “flattered” he is.

Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati said: “Henry Cavill and Regé-Jean Page continue to head the betting by some distance, but we’ve seen further interest in Michael Fassbender over the last few days, and have cut his odds to just 9/1 as a result. While the X-Men star is still some way off the frontrunners in the 007 betting, he is slowly starting to close the gap on the competition.”

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