James Bond: John Boyega would play 007 if Steve McQueen directs

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With Daniel Craig set to bid farewell to James Bond with the upcoming NO TIME TO DIE, it will soon be time for a new actor to play the secret agent. There is certainly no shortage of candidates for the gig, which is no surprise as most actors would give their left arm for the chance to play the part. One such actor is down to play James Bond, John Boyega (STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER), recently spoke with MTV News about his chances of stepping into the spy's Crockett & Jones shoes.

The ball got rolling when Letitia Wright (who stars alongside John Boyega in Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology film series for Amazon) was asked whether Daniel Kaluuya (BLACK PANTHER) or Boyega should be James Bond. "I’d say Boyega because I know he would love it, you know?" Wright said. "Daniel is the, he’s the, ‘Do the work and stay behind’… you know he likes to stay low-key… So, that’s too much. He can still play Bond too. But, I know John Boyega would just, yeah." When informed of Wright's comments, John Boyega confirmed his enthusiasm for the role, but added one stipulation – he'd like to see Steve McQueen direct.

Hey, listen. [With] Steve McQueen directing, let’s do this. We could show them something different. We still bring that sophistication. You know, James Bond has to be James Bond. But, we could do something with that.

At 28 years old, John Boyega would be the youngest actor to play James Bond, but he wouldn't be too far behind George Lazenby, who was just 30 years old when ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE was released in theaters in 1969. Had NO TIME TO DIE actually been released in theaters earlier this year, it's likely we would have heard something about the next actor to play James Bond, but franchise producer Barbara Broccoli told Total Film last month that, "I always say: you can only be in love with one person at a time. Once the film’s come out, then some time will pass, and then we’ll have to get on to the business of the future. But for now, we just cannot think about anything beyond Daniel." In regards to an actor of colour playing the role, Broccoli has previously said that Bond "can be of any colour" but that he must remain male, responding to those who believe that the next Bond should be played by a woman. "I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters," Broccoli said. "I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that." At the moment, NO TIME TO DIE is slated to debut on April 2, 2021.