Eternals star Richard Madden has played things suspiciously coy when asked about potentially taking over as James Bond from No Time to Die star Daniel Craig. The actor was recently asked whether he would like to slip into the tux of 007 in the future, but before he could answer a member of his team quickly takes him away saying, "we're going to move on from that." Hey, sometimes silence really does speak much louder than words ever could.

On top of this mysterious behaviour, Richard Madden recently emerged as the favorite to take over as James Bond following Daniel Craig's departure in No Time to Die. The Game of Thrones actor is now the bookie's frontrunner at 9-4, beating out 007 favorite Tom Hardy who is currently on 3-1. Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page, who has been a major contender for the role ever since the release of the popular Netflix series, is now third in line at 4-1, with Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill sitting at 10-1 odds.

"We have seen a number of people top the betting for the next 007 after Daniel Craig and Richard Madden is the latest to become the favourite," said Coral's Harry Aitkenhead. "We now think that the Bodyguard star is going to be the one to step into the most famous role in British film."

While Madden's avoidance is sure to have the rumor mill swirling, it will likely be some time before we find out who has been chosen to continue the legacy of 007, with producer Barbara Broccoli having revealed that the studio will not even start looking for Daniel Craig's replacement until 2022. "We're not thinking about it at all," the producer explained. "We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we'll start thinking about the future."

Daniel Craig meanwhile has said that, despite his occasional loathing of the role, he will be sad to see someone else pick up the mantle. "It's been incredible to do these films," Craig said back in September. "It's very emotional. I'm glad I am ending it on my own terms. I'm grateful to the producers for letting me do that. But I sure miss it. I'll probably be incredibly bitter when the new person takes over."

Richard Madden's star is very much on the rise, with the actor recently joining one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor is a member of the Eternals, which brings a whole new side to the already vast MCU. Picking up following the events of 2019's comic book blockbuster event, Avengers: Endgame, Eternals introduces the titular species of immortal aliens, who hail from a distant planet and arrived on earth thousands of years ago. Created by the Celestials, a race of powerful extra-terrestrial cosmic beings who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years, the Eternals must reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

Eternals is out now, and has sadly ended the MCU's Rotten Tomatoes streak, with the movie currently sitting at 47%. Do you think Richard Madden is a good choice for the next 007? This comes to us from Twitter user @crocinoo.