Tom Hardy Would be Interested in Playing Bond if Christopher Nolan Directs

The next Bond film will be the twenty-fifth in the series. So far, there has been a dearth of news on its progess and we don't expect any update to come in the near future. Daniel Craig is expected to return, seeing as though he is contracted to make one more and doesn't seem ready to move on from the action franchise just yet. This past October, the 48-year-old actor said he still enjoys playing the charming and lethal spy and would "miss it terribly" if he were to stop doing it.

Eventually, his run will end, and the search for the next Bond will begin. One of the leading candidates to fill that future vacancy is Tom Hardy. But doesn't he have interest in the part?

"You know, there's a saying amongst us in the fraternity of acting, and in the fellowship of my peer group, that if you talk about it you're automatically out of the race," Hardy told The Daily Beast. "So I can't possibly comment on that one! If I mention it, it's gone."

However, when asked if he would have interest in a hypothetical Bond film directed by Christopher Nolan — who directed Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises and the upcoming Dunkirk — and starring him in the lead and his old drama school pal Michael Fassbender as the villain, Hardy expressed excitement. "Oh, wow, Chris would be amazing!" he exclaimed. "Wow, that would be cool. That would be so cool."

Nolan would indeed be a cool choice to direct the next Bond. He is a self-professed Bond fan and has spoken "with the producers over the years, but nothing's ever worked out."

"But Chris Nolan, what a fantastic director for a Bond movie," Hardy added. "Because Daniel [Craig] is so good, and what [Sam] Mendes and Barbara [Broccoli] have done has been so impressive, that it would be a very hard reimagination to follow after. I wonder what the next installment of that franchise would become, and I think when you mention someone like Christopher Nolan, that's a very powerful figure to bring into that world who could bring something new and create something profound—again."

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Hardy can currently be seen in Taboo. It airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST on FX. Dunkirk will be in theaters July 21, 2017.