In a poll of 5,767 voters, held from October 7 to 8, 41 percent of voters said Tom Hardy should be the next James Bond, followed by the beloved British actor Idris Elba. Betting predictions mirror these results, with Tom Hardy in the number one spot with odds of 5/2 from Ladbrokes.

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A Twitter user wrote: “Tom Hardy absolutely has to be the next James Bond, he would be incredible in the role. It’s as close to a perfect casting as you can get.”

Mr Hardy, 44, is no stranger to the ‘spy’ role, his performance in ‘This Means War’ directed by Will Smith in 2012 was a raging success internationally.

Up there with the very best actors Britain has ever produced, BAFTA-winning Mr Hardy has also starred in sell-out movies such as Mad Max (2015), Inception (2010), and The Revenant (2015).

One Bond fan tweeted: “Tom Hardy for the next #JamesBond no contest, no need for any discussion. Simples.”

But others think he is too much of an obvious option and will play the part in a traditional way that isn’t much different from the Bond’s the audience has seen before.

Significantly, a large share of Express voters, 32 percent, wanted someone else to play the role of Bond who is not predicted by betting companies to be selected.

007 fan, Billy Taylor said: “Would love to see Tom Hardy or Idris Alba but I think it’ll be kind of an unknown actor.”

Mike Finnerty agreed: “Lesson one of James Bond casting rumours, they will never ever cast the bookies favourite or a major award nominee. Idris Elba and Tom Hardy are both.”

In Express.co.uk’s poll, Luther star Idris Elba took home 12 percent of the vote for the next James Bond, followed by James Norton with 11 percent, Regé-Jean Page with four percent, and lastly Clive Standen with two percent.

READ MORE: Next James Bond: Idris Elba drops 007 casting bombshell

Another wrote: “Instead of making James Bond a black man, why don’t we give an actor like Idris Elba or an actress like Daniela Melchior their own original character to play. Create a new legacy and build on it.”

One thing is for sure, people around the world are excited to see the James Bond movies taking on a fresh perspective with a more diverse cast in ‘No Time To Die’.

Whoever takes over as the next 007 agent has a huge act to follow as the new Bond film brought in a record-breaking $119million in its debut weekend.

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