Daniel Craig Is Odds-On Favorite as James Bond Betting Continues

The saga of James Bond 25 continues and at the moment, all bets are on. For months we have heard reports about Daniel Craig seemingly ready to abandon the franchise, with Sony and MGM doing everything they can to keep him onboard for at least one more movie. Recently, Daniel Craig walked back his previous "slash my wrists" comment and stated that he would miss being Bond. Now, the odds have tipped heavily in his favor, according to some sports betting professionals.

SportsBettingExperts.com recently published a new list of actors and the odds of them playing 007 in the next James Bond movie. Because of Daniel Craig's recent comments, he is now heavily favored to return for a fifth go as Bond in James Bond 25. For those who get betting odds, he is now going off at -175. Basically, the (-) figure is the favorite and the (+) figure is the underdog. Craig was listed as the favorite in this report with a list of others with varying odds as a potential replacement. This is the first time in months that Daniel Craig has been the favorite, but his recent comments are pretty convincing. In case you missed it, here is what the actor said during a Q&A with Vulture.

"Everyone's a bit tired. As far as I'm concerned, I've got the best job in the world. I'll keep doing it as long as I still get a kick out of it. If I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly."

Daniel Craig also explained that his previous comments were made the day after he finished filming on Spectre and that he had been away from home for quite some time, which contributed to his lack of optimism. He also claimed that the reports of Sony offering to pay him upwards of $150 million for two more James Bond movies were not at all true. So assuming Daniel Craig doesn't wind up returning, who is next in line according to odds makers? Mad Max: Fury Road star Tom Hardy, who is going off at +275. The report claimed that Tom Hardy has largely been favored in the media as well as being a popular choice with fans, which is why he came out on top as a potential replacement.

A few months ago, we reported that certain bookies were forced to stop taking bets on Thor star Tom Hiddleston because the odds of him taking on the title role in the next James Bond movie tipped so heavily in his favor. According to this recent report, the odds are still fairly heavy in his favor, as he is going off at +800. That puts him behind the likes of James Norton, Aidan Turner and in a dead tie with Idris Elba.

The last 007 movie, Spectre, was a success at the box office, grossing nearly $900 million worldwide, but it didn't come near the take of Skyfall which was more than $1.1 billion and wasn't nearly as much of a critical success either. As of right now, there is no word on when production will begin on James Bond 25, which will be the landmark 25th installment of the franchise. The producers of the series have made it clear that Daniel Craig is their top choice, so if he is willing to come back, they will make it happen. If not, one of the guys on this new list could very well be our new 007. You can check out the full list of James Bond betting odds for yourself below.

James Norton: +400

Aidan Turner: +300

Tom Hiddleston: +800

Idris Elba: +800

Tom Hardy: +275

Damian Lewis: +1600

Michael Fassbender: +2000

Rupert Friend: +5000

Henry Cavill: +2000

Oliver Jackson-Cohen: +4000

Sam Riley: +5000

Cillian Murphy: +5000