It is hard to believe that the very first James Bond movie was released way back in 1962 with the arrival of Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as 007. Since then, the James Bond movie franchise has become a worldwide phenomenon, consisting of 25 official movies and welcoming a myriad of actors taking on the titular role, such as Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and more recently, Daniel Craig.
However, with Craig hanging up the gadgets back in 2021 with No Time To Die, which actor will take over as Bond has remained an area of discourse ever since. With rumors suggesting everyone from Callum Turner to Aaron-Taylor Johnson and Jacob Elordi, whilst others would even like to see a woman or a POC in the role, we still have no idea who will be taking up the mantle.
That being said, the 007 franchise consists of more than just movie releases, and just this week, a brand-new James Bond video game was released in the form of 007: First Light.
Developed by IO Interactive and released on 27 May, 007: First Light is an action-adventure video game based on the James Bond franchise, yet consisting of an original narrative inspired by the novel and short stories of Ian Flemming. As such, players will get to meet a much younger and more reckless Bond, with the titular role being handed to actor Patrick Gibson.
Best known for his role in Dexter: Original Sin as a much younger Dexter, the Irish actor stars as a young James Bond in 007: First Light, something that has made one Twitter user point out an interesting fact. "So, can we now officially say that Patrick Gibson has taken over from Daniel Craig as the current James Bond 007?" They asked, alongside images of the pair.
Considering that there is currently no active Bond, it does make sense that Gibson has taken up the mantle, and fans quickly took to the comments to share their own thoughts. "For most people, no, only because most people won't play the games and will associate only with whoever the next screen Bond is. But he's doing a good job in the game universe," the top comment read.
This makes a good point as, despite being a massive Bond fan such as myself, I know for a fact that my mother would have no idea who Gibson is despite the video game industry being as big as it is in recent years.
However, another user made another interesting point, "Aside from the height, he could honestly just be a younger version of the same Bond." With another user pointing out that Gibson is "only 5ft9", it seems as though Bond's height is still an area of contention. I know we cannot expect a spy to be the tallest in the room (looking at you, Jacob Elordi), but the obsession over his height still remains a mystery to me.
Nevertheless, whether you like it or not, Gibson is our current Bond until the actor who will be taking over from Craig is announced, and a fine job he is doing indeed.
