MGM is struggling to find Daniel Craig's replacement for Bond 26, but No Time to Die featured the perfect 007 actors, and it might still be possible. No Time to Die was Craig's Bond's swan song, as it saw all the best characters from the previous four movies return, such as Q (Ben Whishaw) and Felix (Jeffrey Wright), and, of course, killed off the spy in the most theatrical, emotional way possible. And while Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) was the token eccentric Bond villain, and Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) was pulling the strings behind the curtain too, Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen) was a tertiary villain who didn't get enough screen time.

Logan is a double agent who works for the CIA and is assigned to help Bond but secretly works for Safin. Magnussen hasn't had many huge movie roles, but he stole the show in the overlooked 2018 crime comedy Game Night, and no other actor could keep up with him in the short-lived HBO series, Made for Love. And he was hugely entertaining as the smiley but deranged agent, but his performance hinted that he could nail down the movie's hero too.

Billy Magnussen Would Make A Perfect James Bond

Though he doesn't have the swagger that all the previous James Bond actors have, he still has 007's looks. But more than anything, as there's a demand that Bond 26 should be different from Daniel Craig's 007 era, including less serious. Magnussen's hilarious comedy acting and somewhat goofy demeanor would be a perfect spin on the character, and he still has Bond's typical charm too. Bond 26 should take influence from the older movies with its campiness and use of ridiculous gadgets. But Magnussen could keep the film from becoming too much like a Johnny English-like Bond parody movie, as he has the dramatic range to bring it back to reality.

Magnussen is around the same age as Daniel Craig when he was working on Casino Royale, which might not help the actor's chances. MGM is reportedly looking for a committed actor who will play Bond for over a decade, so it may want a younger actor. However, though he's 37 years old, Magnussen looks much younger than he is, and he isn't a movie star like other big names being thrown around, such as Idris Elba, so he wouldn't come with a $20 million price tag either. It'd also continue a tradition of pulling an actor from almost obscurity, as Craig was essentially unknown before being cast as 007.

Billy Magnussen Could Still Be James Bond

Bond 26 will likely be a total reboot from the ground up without any connection to the previous movies, so any prior actor in the franchise potentially has a chance. So given that Magnussen has already been a part of the Bond franchise by playing Logan Ash in No Time to Die, that doesn't mean he can't still play James Bond. Magnussen's character was just a tertiary one, and in the grand scheme of the movie and Craig's Bond series, it's such a minor role. If Whishaw was cast as Bond for Bond 26, that might have been a little harder to pull off, but as Magnussen's screen time amounts to no more than 10 minutes, he could be cast as the spy.

MGM Still Hasn’t Found The Next James Bond Actor

MGM has been struggling to cast the next James Bond. Either that or the studio is keeping its decision close to its chest. Bond producer Barbara Broccoli gave a casting update, raising concerns about how far Bond 26 is from its release. Broccoli commented, "No, we haven’t even started casting yet. There isn't even a script" (via Games Radar). However, Taron Egerton believes Bond has been cast, explaining, "I think they've already got someone, and it's not me." But he isn't involved in the project at all. So while he's a respected Hollywood actor, he isn't exactly an authoritative figure on the subject.

MGM Likely Won’t Cast A Non-British Actor As James Bond

It doesn't matter how perfect Magnussen is for the role of the British spy, as MGM has made it clear that a British actor will play the next Bond (via Far Out). And as Magnussen is American, he doesn't stand a chance. MGM's traditionalism doesn't end there, as the studio had always been reluctant to hire non-British directors too. However, that tradition ended with No Time to Die, as American filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga helmed the 2021 movie. So with one tradition nipped in the bud, MGM could finally hire an American actor for Bond 26, and Magnussen should be first on the list.

Source: Games Radar