Sam Heughan is destroying the chances of Richard Madden to become the next James Bond. The Outlander actor has climbed to second place on the betting of who could replace Daniel Craig in the franchise.
Since Craig confirmed that the upcoming Bond movie, No Time To Die, will be his last, the anticipation on who will fill his shoes has been hyped than ever. Bets were placed on several actors and among them are Heughan and Madden.
British actor James Norton has been on the top for months now while it's a neck and neck battle between Scottish actors Sam Heughan and Richard Madden. However, in the past few days, Heughan surged on the second spot, bumping the Games of Thrones actor in the third place.
According to Express, the Bloodshot actor's odds have been slashed to 3/1 while Madden's remain at 5/1. Norton is sitting on the top with 2/1.
"He [Heughan] now looks to be James Norton's only real challenger for the role," a bettor noted.
Many James Bond fans believed that the increase in bets on Heughan was because of the support from his co-workers in the new comic book Bloodshot. Director David Wilson and lead actor Vin Diesel threw their support to the actor in their recent interviews.
"Of course he'd make a good James Bond. He'd make a good anything," the Fast and Furious actor told the PA news agency.
During the special screening of Bloodshot in Los Angeles, Wilson said he will definitely fall in line in cinemas on the opening weekend of the next James Bond if it will star Heughan. He praised the actor for being the nicest person he has ever worked with.
"Sam is one of the nicest human beings I have ever worked with... Everybody loves him," he said.
To further prove that he truly believes in Heughan's talent, Wilson revealed that the actor was already on his list of stars for Bloodshot even before Sam auditioned for a role. He admitted that he was surprised to see Heughan's audition tape when in fact, he doesn't need to get to the process.
Aside from Bloodshot, Heughan is also very visible these days because of the ongoing season of Outlander. The 39-year-old hunk rose to fame for playing the role of the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in the Starz series. Outlander Season 5 currently airs on the network.
Meanwhile, Heughan's chances to land the James Bond role may have increased but fans will have to wait longer for the announcement on who will play the ironic character next. Franchise producer Barbara Broccoli is unlikely to name the next James Bond anytime soon since the release date of the upcoming 007 movie, No Time To Die, has been delayed due to coronavirus pandemic.
Daniel Craig's final Bond movie was originally scheduled for release this month. It was pushed back to November 12 in the United Kingdom and November 25 in the United States because of the worldwide health crisis.
