Cillian Murphy Tipped To Replace Daniel Craig As James Bond

The role of James Bond is about as coveted as they come, for obvious reasons... Seriously, who wouldn't want to be Bond?

Daniel Craig is due to make his fifth and final appearance as 007 in the upcoming film, Bond 25 (rumoured to be called Shatterhand), before vacating the prized tuxedo.

For a long while, there has been speculation that The Wire and Luther star Idris Elba may be next in line, but now it's looking more and more like Craig's replacement may be by order of the Peaky Blinders.

Just yesterday, Betway had Cillian Murphy - who plays the sharp-hat wielding protagonist of the hit BBC series - at 7/1 to replace Craig as Bond. But overnight, the bookmakers has slashed those odds to just 100/30.

The 42-year-old actor's notoriety as Tommy Shelby has rapidly increased over the last couple of years, and in turn, his odds to become the next Bond have dropped and dropped. Indeed, at Christmas 2017, he was a 125/1 outsider - or the equivalent of Brad Pitt today.

via GIPHY

The latest odds drop comes following a flurry of bets backing Murphy, according to The Irish Post.

Betway's Alan Alger told the paper: "Cillian Murphy is the latest name to be linked with the next James Bond role and with the new season of Peaky Blinders just around the corner, it wouldn't be a surprise to see his current 100/30 shorten even more.

"He's stood as a quietly fancied 7/1 shot over the past few months but his odds have more than halved this morning and is now no bigger than 100/30. Only current market leaders Richard Madden and Tom Hiddleston, both 2/1, are higher up the pecking order."

If Douglas-born Murphy does succeed Craig, he will become the second Irishman to play the Ian Fleming character, after Pierce Brosnan, who played the secret service agent in four films across the 90s and noughties.

No doubt Peaky Blinders fans - who are currently eagerly anticipating season five - would relish the opportunity to see Murphy whip off his flat cap and get behind the wheel of an Aston Martin. But although he is undoubtedly captivating and suitably bad-ass as Tommy Shelby, some might argue he would be better suited to playing a Bond villain.

It doesn't seem likely that Murphy will assume such a role though, as Bohemian Rhapsody star, Rami Malek, is reportedly in 'final negotiations' to play the bad guy in Bond 25.

Who wouldn't want to see Tommy Shelby save the world from an evil Freddie Mercury? Make it happen Bond people.

Topics: TV and Film, Peaky Blinders, James Bond

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey