In a perfectly shaken and not stirred storm of news that should be taken with a grain of salt, there were reports last week that Tom Hiddleston had a secret meeting with Spectre director Sam Mendes. That must mean he’s the new James Bond, right? Well, no, because Mendes is more than likely done with the Bond franchise. “But wait, Bond bro,” you might be saying, “the reports also had him meeting with producer Barbara Broccoli in London as well.” That must mean Hiddleston is the new James Bond, right? Again, probably not, because the sources are all suspect as hell – a “source” told the Daily Mail, you say?!?! – and Hiddleston’s reps are denying that any such meeting ever took place.
Yes, reps say all sorts of things to try and keep secrets, well, secret. But Hiddleston has been doing a hell of a job playing the Hollywood diplomat over this Bond 25 casting chaos, having recently predicted that Daniel Craig will not only return, but he’ll also be playing the role for years to come. (That goes against Craig’s proclamation that he’ll stop playing Bond when he feels he’s too old for the character, but one Bond story at a time.) Logic and spokesperson statements be damned, though, because Bond fans and degenerate gamblers will not be stopped from believing that the star of The Night Manager is next up as the world’s most legendary gentleman spy.
According to The Guardian, bookmakers have suspended betting on Hiddleston as the next Bond – remember, betting on film casting is a real thing – because too many people are putting their money on the actor. The odds went from 2-1 to 1-2 so quickly that one bookmaker had to put an end to the rubbish.
“There’s no smoke without fire, and following the big gamble on Tom Hiddleston in the last 24 hours, we’ve had no choice but to pull the plug on the market,” said Coral spokesperson Nicola McGeady.
“Earlier in the year there was a gamble on Idris Elba and Damian Lewis, but nothing has come close to the recent gamble on Hiddleston.”.
Hiddleston has told everyone from Graham Norton to Jimmy Kimmel that, while he would love to play Bond, no one has even approached him about it. It’s Hiddleston’s playful charm that has fans so enamored with him for any role, especially Bond, so he’s definitely not doing himself any favors in killing the rumors. However, perhaps the real thing that fans should be betting on is which studio will distribute Bond 25, because that’s probably a slightly more pressing issue at this point.
