The Spectre of Change in Bond Betting Odds
There’s a plot twist in the narrative surrounding the successor to the iconic James Bond character. Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has witnessed a massive shift in his odds of donning the tuxedo, with his odds slashed massively overnight.
The world has been waiting with bated breath for a new 007 to be unveiled ever since Daniel Craig made his dramatic exit from the franchise nearly two years ago with the release of No Time To Die. And the current strike by Hollywood actors and writers adds to the suspense, suggesting it may be some time before a new Bond announcement is even made.
Oppenheimer Star Cillian Murphy to be Next Bond?
Despite the suspense in Hollywood, the betting arena has seen a substantial upset in the odds. Cillian Murphy, star of the recent movie Oppenheimer and long time British gangster series Peaky Blinders, has seen his chances of being named the new Bond cut by an unprecedented 90 per cent.
The 47-year-old star, who delivered a mesmerizing performance in Christopher Nolan’s latest WW2 blockbuster, saw his odds dramatically reduced from 50-1 to 5-1. This significant shift in odds implies the Irish actor has moved up the ranks to become the fifth favorite in Paddy Power’s odds for the next James Bond.
Cillian Murphy was always an outsider, but all of a sudden it looks like a real possibility that we could have a second Irish Bond after Piers Brosnan carried the Walther PPK in the 1990s and early noughties.
It’s worth noting that Christopher Nolan himself now has odds of 1-2 to direct Bond 26. Paddy power said of this prospect, “A Nolan and Murphy link up would be explosive, to say the least, and if he does get the role after Oppenheimer, Cillian will hope he doesn’t ‘bomb’ as the next Bond.”
That said, the legendary director recently distanced himself from directing the next Bond movie, saying he wouldn’t like to work within the constraints. But why would he even admit to possibly doing it if there is to be no announcement? We wait with baited breath.
A Competitive Race
In the race for the Bond mantle, Murphy’s 5-1 odds put him behind Aaron Taylor-Johnson at 2-1, Henry Cavill at 5-2, Paapa Essiedu at 3-1, and James Norton at 7-2, with early favourite and fans’ choice Tom Hardy now dropping lower but still in with a shout at 9/1. See latest Paddy Power odds…
The Bond franchise producers have previously indicated a preference for an actor in their thirties for the iconic role as they’d prefer someone to stick around for at least a decade. Still, with Nolan potentially in the director’s seat, he might sway them to consider an older Bond in the likeness of the 47-year-old Murphy, and at 57 he will only be the same age as Roger Moore in A View to a Kill.
