OSCAR-nominated Irish superstar Barry Keoghan has become the front runner to lead as the next James Bond film.
With recent reports revealing that Amazon MGM Studios are taking creative control of the film franchise – fans are eager to find out what star will be getting a Bond-related call in the coming months.
Of course, the James Bond flick wouldn’t be complete without its heady villain role.
Any new Bond villains will have big shoes to fill by following in the footsteps of Christoph Waltz, Javier Bardem, Mads Mikkelsen, Robert Carlyle and Christopher Lee.
And although nothing is set in stone, researchers from Gambling.com have been monitoring the news around Amazon and James Bond and created some markets on who could be the next villain.
Amazon had a huge hit with 2023 movie Saltburn, and if they want to try to recreate some of that magic in the next Bond movie then why not cast some of its stars?
Barry Keoghan is best remembered by many for his character’s naked dance to the song Murder on the Dancefloor at the end of the movie.
The Dublin megastar is currently leading the odds to play the villain with a 7/4 chance, coming in behind Peter Dinklage, who is the 13/8 favourite to be the next male Bond bad guy.
Fellow Irishman, Cillian Murphy isn’t too far behind as a prediction for Bond’s next enemy, with Betway recently revealing he had a 9.6% chance of securing the role.
Oscar-winner Ben Affleck has also been named as a potential Bond baddie.
Affleck starred in, produced and directed Amazon’s Air sports drama movie, about Nike‘s deal with professional basketball player Michael Jordan.
But will he swap shooting hoops for trying to shoot 007?
Hollywood star, Dwayne ‘The Rock‘ Johnson is also 2/1 joint-third favourite.
But with the male odds, the question on everyone’s lips is, could it be a female villain?
LEADING LADY
Rosamund Pike, who played alongside Keoghan in Saltburn, would make a fantastic female Bond villain in the next movie and she could become the first woman to take on the coveted role.
Pike currently has 6/4 odds to land the role.
Others in contention include Carlow native and Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, with 7/2 odds.
The Little Woman actress previously expressed her desire to portray a Bond villain one day – and we know we’d love to see it come to fruition.
