By Before being cast as Superman in Zack Snyder’s ultra-realistic upcoming movie, Henry Cavill was Hollywood’s ‘nearly’ man. Despite being a front runner for each part, he suffered near-misses for the lead in Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, for Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter, Edward in Twilight (losing out twice to Pattinson), the lead in Bryan Singer’s Superman and Bond in Casino Royale. Now that he’s finally captured the Superman part, it sounds as though he’s after another part that previously eluded him: in a press junket, he revealed his hopes of adopting the Bond mantle once Daniel Craig hangs up his PPK.
Fortunately for him, history is on his side: actors who missed out on the Bond role first time around have often gone on to make it their own later on. Roger Moore was Ian Fleming’s choice for Bond in Dr. No in 1962, finally taking over the part in 1973 with Live and Let Die. Timothy Dalton, who became Bond in The Living Daylights in 1986, had been considered as early as 1968 for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service but rejected the opportunity because he felt he was too young. When Dalton did become Bond, it was only because NBC had forced Pierce Brosnan back into the recomissioned Remington Steele: Brosnan’s time came in 1995 with GoldenEye. Something else that could work in Cavill’s favour is how the Bond films have gone through trends of being more serious or more fantastical. Cavill’s looks would seem to favour a Bond in the more lighthearted Brosnan mould, which could be just the ticket once Craig has scowled himself out.
Bond 23 is due for release in November 2012, with the producers reportedly location scouting South Africa.
[via MI6]