Bond favourite Aaron Taylor-Johnson reacts to criticism over 24-year age gap relationship

It's a potentially very exciting time for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, as the rumours swirling around him suggest he'll be the next James Bond.

Of course these claims are unconfirmed so should be taken with a pinch of salt, but The Sun reports he's been 'formally offered' the chance to succeed Daniel Craig as 007.

Apparently the offer is on the table and all Taylor-Johnson needs to do is sign on the dotted line, then it's on with the suits and time to shoot some bad guys who have a doom rocket pointed at the world or something.

Of course it's entirely possible that he's just one of the many names still in contention for the job.

He might be the bookies' favourite, but until there's official confirmation, we'll all just have to wait and see what the result is.

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If Aaron Taylor-Johnson, already a popular and prolific actor, has not quite yet been thrust into that harsh glare of the spotlight, then he certainly has with the Bond rumours.

This is a man who could spend the next few years of his life being one of cinema's most iconic characters, not to mention a bona fide British institution.

With that harsh glare of the spotlight has come some less than positive attention, as some have been making unkind comments about his marriage.

Here's the quick version, Aaron met his wife Samantha Taylor-Wood in 2009 on the set of movie Nowhere Boy, which she directed and he was the lead star in when he was 18 and she was 42.

They started dating and in 2012 ended up getting married, with them both changing their surnames to 'Taylor-Johnson', as before then he'd been Aaron Johnson.

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The couple have two daughters together, and he is a stepfather to her two children from a previous marriage.

While some have had their opinions on his relationship, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK he said he found people's thoughts on his marriage 'bizarre'.

He said: "What you gotta realise is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13.

"You’re doing something too quickly for someone else? I don’t understand that. What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It’s bizarre to me."

The man's got more important things on his plate than people making weird comments about his marriage, and he's 'flattered' about all the speculation linking him to being the next James Bond, but is focused on staying grounded.