The Welshman is a popular choice to portray Bond (Picture: Rex/Getty)
Luke Evans has offered his opinion on the James Bond franchise, praising it for moving away from the days of the spy’s – quite frankly – exhausting womanising.
The Welsh actor, 43, has long been tipped as a favourite to replace Daniel Craig in the role of 007 now he’s handed in his licence to kill, with him recently saying that he would ‘jump’ at the chance to take on the role.
In Craig’s final outings, 2015’s Spectre and 2021’s No Time To Die, Bond was involved in a romantic storyline with psychiatrist Madeline Swann (Léa Seydoux) rather than his usual parade of multiple Bond girls per movie outing.
‘We’re not in the Roger Moore [era] where he sleeps with five women per film, that’s not really what he’s about anymore,’ Evans observed in a new interview, adding that he felt audiences were now ‘more interested in the spectacle, the story’.
He had previously told The Guardian: ‘I don’t know what the current temperature is with audiences, whether they care enough to worry about what James Bond does in the bedroom,’ as he confirmed his interest in taking on the role of the iconic and suave MI6 operative.
Asked whether that comment referred to Bond’s sexuality, or that of the actor playing him, Evans – who is gay – confirmed to The Independent: ‘Both, I suppose.’
Evans praised the evolution of the spy under Daniel Craig’s watch (Picture: MGM/Columbia/Eon/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)
Roger Moore and Jane Seymour in 1973’s Live and Let Die (Picture: Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstock)
‘[My sexuality] hasn’t had any impact on any of the roles I’ve played, my slate is so diverse, so varied in such a brilliant way. I’ve played everything and no one seems to have a problem with that.’
Evans was also incredibly positive over Craig’s interpretation of the part, which he held from 2006’s Casino Royale, and how the character of Bond has evolved to fit in more with modern sensibilities.
‘It’s huge. What are they gonna do next?! They’re so fantastic, I love the movies and whoever gets the role will have very big shoes to fill.’
Evans has previously said he doesn’t think people care about ‘what Bond does in the bedroom’ (Picture: Rob Latour/Rex/Shutterstock)
Other actors said to be in the running for Bond include Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill, Bridgerton’s Rege-Jean Page, James Norton and the ever-popular Idris Elba.
Recently, Cavill and David Tennant have both revealed they were in the running last time around when Craig won the part, while Elba has seemingly ruled himself out of the race.
However, long-time Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson have been keen to emphasise how there will be no announcements anytime soon, estimating that it will be at least two years before any filming would begin on the next movie.
The Witcher star Henry Cavill is another contender for the role, getting down to the last two last time around (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
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‘There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond.’
She added to Deadline: ‘We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time.’
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Evans is a popular possible replacement for Daniel Craig in the role.