Is Richard Madden the New Bond? Game of Thrones Fans Found a Clue, Apparently

When the first movie — Dr. No — was released in 1962, hardly could anyone think it would span into a franchise of 27 pictures and become one of the world's most easily recognized works of cinematic art.

Nevertheless, as of 2023, the James Bond series is one of the most popular and financially successful, with a total box-office gross of almost $20 billion after inflation adjustment.

Naturally, the men who played the titular character are all famous and beloved as well. Such prominent actors as Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig portrayed Agent 007 over the years, but as the last actor to play Mr. Bond has quit, the question about the next candidate for the role arises. Now it looks like fans have found the answer.

Unfortunate Robb Stark from Games of Thrones, Richard Madden has been bet on for years as the one who might be next to play James Bond.

He is British, he's charmingly handsome, and he has experience with action roles, which we could see him play in BBC's Bodyguard. His most recent role in an Apple TV+ spy action show, Citadel, has rekindled the discussion once again.

Moreover, a joke video posted by Stanley Tucci, Madden's co-star on Citadel, suggests that the King in the North actor may well be the next one to have his martinis 'shaken but not stirred.' As the two are sipping their cocktails, Tucci asks Madden how he likes the drink, to which he replies with an eloquent 'Delicious.' And as you may know, martini is an iconic James Bond beverage. So it's no wonder fans believe it's a clue that Richard is the next Agent 007.

Sadly, yet in an interview with LADbible in February earlier this year, Barbara Broccoli — one of the EPs of the franchise — revealed that there wasn't a script, let alone the possibility that the casting process had started.

'When you change the actor you have to reimagine the direction the film's gonna go in,' she said to Empire in September 2022. 'So you have to think it through, what is the trajectory? [...] We want to get a sense of where we want to go with the series and we want to do that before we bring anybody else on.'

So, we are yet to see who will be the next to play Mr. Bond.

Sources: Stanley Tucci's Instagram, LADbible, Empire