Who Should Be the Next James Bond Villain?
For years, the pop culture world has incessantly buzzed with speculation as to who might be the next James Bond. It’s become a conversation so overworn that it borders on cliché. And I’m as guilty as anyone; I read the rumours, I’ve peppered the question into countless interviews with actors, and I’m embarrassed to say that I genuinely bring it up as a conversation topic at dinner parties. And yet, for all our guesswork, to start 2026, we still have nothing to show for it.
Yet, on the Golden Globe red carpet, we got a tease as to what the future of the Bond franchise could look like, hypothetically. When Kevin O’Leary — who makes his (shockingly good) acting debut in Marty Supreme — was asked which role he’d like to take on next, he said: “I have to be the bad guy in Bond, that’s it. Nobody can play that role like I can.”
How right you are, O’Leary. So, it had me thinking, “Which actors would be quintessential additions to the iconic list of Bond villains?” Regardless of who the next 007 might be, the actors below would, undeniably, be the perfect foil.
Kevin O’Leary
Despite what you might think of O’Leary as a businessperson or, well, just a person, he’s right. He was born to be a conniving, ruthless, cold-blooded Bond villain. And as someone who was incredibly skeptical of his acting chops heading into his debut, I have to admit, I left impressed. Granted, his role in Marty Supreme essentially asked him to play himself. Even still, if that was the extent of his range, it’d still fit the bill as a Bond villain. Could he be the next iteration of Goldfinger?
Harris Dickinson
I’m hedging my bets here because, in an ideal world, Dickinson would be on my shortlist for 007 himself. But a staple of the franchise has been villains who act as mirrors to Bond, whether it was Sean Bean in Golden Eye or Robert Shaw in From Russia With Love. Dickinson would add a sort of posh, flippant complement to whoever ends up taking the Bond mantle.
Colman Domingo
Sometimes, a good Bond villain is defined by their subtle, menacing, understated presence, like Rami Malek in No Time to Die. Other times, they’re vibrant, campy, and tend to steal the scene from Bond any time they share a spotlight. Colman Domingo, naturally, would be the latter. And he’d be perfect in every sense. He has the personality and acting chops to turn in a similarly iconic performance as Javier Bardem’s beloved Raoul Silva from Skyfall.
Idris Elba
Similarly to Dickinson, this one is a little cheeky as Idris Elba has been at the forefront of the Bond conversation for what feels like a decade. But — at the risk of sounding ageist — I’m worried that he’s getting a little too far out of the age bracket for the role. Granted, I’ve had a 100% disagreement rate when I bring this up at those aforementioned dinner parties, so, maybe it’s just me. But I have a suspicion whoever gets handed the mantle will be expected to carry it for the next decade. Again, he looks the part, he acts the part, and he still might get the part. But, for my money, he’d do just as well as a truly physically-imposing, menacing, charismatic foil to Bond (maybe as a jaded former S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent who resents Bond for receiving the title of 007 that he never could — the irony would be too good to pass up).
Teyana Taylor
Similar to O’Leary, this is another pick based off of recency bias, as Teyana Taylor’s Golden Globe-winning performance in One Battle After Another was one of my favourites of the year. I’d be liable to cast her in just about anything. But the way she was able to balance such cold-blooded, single-minded determination (while betraying the film’s protagonists) and still illicit so much empathy from the audience is what great villains are made of.
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