Aaron Taylor-Johnson as James Bond: Bullet Train co-star and friend Brian Tyree Henry weighs in on 007 casting rumours | Exclusive

It’s been a tumultuous time for James Bond fans, with it going on three years since Daniel Craig‘s finale No Time to Die premiered and no new 007 casting announcement in sight.

In March, there seemed to be a brief glimmer of hope, when The Sun reported that Aaron-Taylor Johnson had been offered the role officially and was expected to sign a contract imminently.

But mum seems to have been the word ever since when it comes to reports of Taylor-Johnson’s casting – but in Sydney on Wednesday night, his Bullet Train co-star and friend had something to say about it.

Watch the video above.

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“I told him don’t take it unless I can be the villain,” Brian Tyree Henry, who plays Megatron in Transformers One opposite Chris Hemsworth, told 9honey Celebrity at the film’s Australian premiere with a smile and a wink.

“I love him very much. I care about him a great deal and it would be the smartest move they ever made, if he was Bond. Truly.”

Taylor-Johnson, 34, and Henry, 42 – a prolific television and film actor with a Primetime Emmy Award nomination under his belt – starred as twin brothers Tangerine and Lemon in 2022’s Bullet Train.

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Henry says in the years since, the duo still “text often” and he “[checks] in on” Taylor-Johnson.

Taylor-Johnson – who has been married to director Sam Taylor-Johnson, 57, since 2012 – has been considered a favourite to take the James Bond mantle from Craig since The Sun‘s initial report in March 2024.

Sources close to the Kick-Ass star, however, reportedly downplayed the rumours and said Taylor-Johnson had not been cast as the British Secret Intelligence Service agent.

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“I can only really talk about the things I’m going to show and tell,” Taylor-Johnson said when asked about his potential casting as Bond during his Rolling Stone UK April/May cover interview.

“I don’t feel like I need to have a future drawn out for me. I feel like: whatever’s drawn out for me, I can f—in’ do better.”

Transformers One hits Australian cinemas on September 19.

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