For about sixty years now, James Bond has been a cornerstone of cinema, starring in twenty-five films in the mainline series. The British superspy has been portrayed by a number of actors, most notably by the late Sir Sean Connery, and most recently by Daniel Craig, whose tenure as 007 came to an end last year in No Time to Die.

Now with Craig out of the picture, studio Eon Productions has begun searching for their next star, with a multitude of actors clamoring for the role. The last time the James Bond position was vacant, over two-hundred actors auditioned for the part, and we can expect much similar results.

However, thanks to the power of the internet and online stupidity, there are actual sportsbooks opened for James Bond bets. Yes, people are betting who will be the next James Bond. So today, I will take a good hard look at the five likeliest candidates according to the books, and judge whether or not these fine men are worthy of the 007 moniker. Plus, I’ll add a few extra candidates whom I think would actually work better than the popular picks.

#1:) Henry Cavill:
The man who came up short to Daniel Craig all the way back in 2006 for the starring role in Casino Royale is now the most popular candidate to succeed him. 

To start off, I do believe that Cavill certainly looks the part, and has played roles that are similar, most notably in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., but there is one problem: he is way too popular.

Henry is in everything now, including Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher, the brand new Argyle film trilogy (where he plays an amnesic superspy), Superman in the DCEU, and was also featured in rival spy film franchise Mission: Impossible’s most recent film, Fallout.

The thing with a new James Bond actor is that they aren’t typically A-listers before getting the part. Because being James Bond is what makes them A-listers, and I personally feel like it’s A) too predictable to cast someone like Cavill and B) Cavill has too much starpower to his name; James Bond wouldn’t define him.

While I do personally love Cavill as an actor, and I think he fits the qualities of James Bond (charm, suaveness, edge, and intelligence), he’s simply too big of a name to cast.

#2:) Rege-Jean Page:
I’d just like to say that I have not watched Bridgerton, so I can’t speak much of Rege-Jean’s acting abilities and style, but from what I understand, he’s just an attractive Brit who seems like he could play 007.

But similar to Cavill, Page is way too busy now, and is already a household name. Bridgerton spread like wildfire when it came out and Page was one of the biggest reasons why.

Yes, I understand that he is popular, but popular doesn’t always mean perfect.

#3:) Tom Hardy:
I love Tom Hardy as much as the next person, he’s simply been one of the more talented actors of the past fifteen years. However, I think he’s getting a little too old for the part, as he’s going to be forty-five years old in a few weeks, and well, typically when an actor signs on as Bond, they play the part for at least a decade (there are only two outliers).

So that means that Tom would potentially be almost sixty by the time he retires from the role, and that just sounds unrealistic. And again, he’s simply too popular to be casted. He’s been rumored as Bond for years due to the fact that Craig nearly retired from the role multiple times, and it was rumored that Hardy was going to replace him if something were to happen.

But that was a decade ago, and Hardy isn’t at the age to play a fresh Bond (as Eon wants to reboot the franchise with a younger face in the role). Plus, I believe that Hardy would play a great villain, maybe one similar to Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye.

#4:) Idris Elba:
He would be my personal pick if it was 2010. But the guy is almost fifty, it’s not happening.

#5:) James Norton:
Out of every popular choice, I believe that Norton would be the best selection, as well as the most likely. Norton isn’t the most well-known actor, as the bulk of his praise comes from the world of television, plus he isn’t popular outside of the U.K.

Norton would also work well as a natural progression away from Craig’s Bond, as Norton provides a similar edge and emotional depth, but maybe people would view that as lazy to copy and paste the same James Bond after a reboot.

The problem is that Norton himself has told people to not bet on him, as he doesn’t believe that he’ll get the role, despite the fact that he’s interested.

Who knows, maybe Norton will get the part, and I certainly wouldn’t be complaining, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Now here are my three candidates whom I would rather see than any of the top five most popular candidates.

Jamie Bell:
This is the man I want to don the tux and drive the Aston Martin. Bell’s career has been an interesting one, as while his acting talents are fantastic (he’s quite versatile), he’s never had a breakthrough role yet. He’s been in massive films and even earned one of the main roles in the critically panned Fan4stic Four reboot. In recent years though, Bell’s career has been on an upward trajectory.

He’s just the right age, as he’s in his mid-thirties, and I believe that he would make a unique Bond that we’ve never seen before.

In all honesty, if he is casted, it would remind me of Robert Pattinson’s casting as Batman a couple of years ago, since they are both scrutinized for roles in maligned failures but slowly became recognized for their true talents.

Bell hasn’t had a true breakthrough role, and I have a feeling that 007 would be that role.

Jack O’Connell:

Jack O’Connell is the youngest actor I am nominating for the role, as he is thirty-two years old. And I may be cheating with my popularity rule, because O’Connell has already been a recipient of a BAFTA award, however, he is really only known for that specific role (the film was Unbroken).

But you see, O’Connell is a fantastic talent who needs more recognition besides that one role, and James Bond would obviously provide that star power. Plus with him barely being over thirty, he could play the role for years.

While he isn’t my first option for James Bond, I do have him fancasted in a different role (it’s for a Marvel character; maybe I’ll do that sometime), I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he is one of the final candidates for the role, and I would definitely be pleased if he won the role.

Dan Stevens:
I’ll keep this short and sweet: Dan is a very handsome man who just so happens to be one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood today. However, he is going to be forty, and he’s been in massive projects before. But if the producers want an established face in the industry who would attract viewers, Stevens is the way to go.