Of Course, Sean Bean Has Thoughts About Richard Madden Possibly Taking Over As The Next James Bond

Richard Madden in Rocketman
(Image credit: (Paramount))

Game of Thrones may be over, but House Stark reigns on! Between Maisie Williams co-founding a social networking app, Sophie Turner’s star-studded status as X-Men’s Jean Grey and wife to Joe Jonas, and Kit Harington and Richard Madden reuniting for The Eternals, Ned Stark has a ton to be proud of. He may not have been beside them every step of the way, but Sean Bean has happily witnesses the rise of his TV children. Now he’s endorsing Madden to be the next James Bond. In his words:

He’s got everything that’s required of the role. He’s strong, he’s masculine and he’s also got a soft underbelly, he’s vulnerable, good looking — Scottish! I can’t see why he wouldn’t get the part. Everybody was great who came through Game Of Thrones. But I always sensed he was a very fine actor. He had gravity and that thing we talked about at drama school — presence. He had a lot of presence.

Such kind words for Richard Madden from Sean Bean! The actor has recently risen up the ranks in rumored new James Bond actors to take up the mantle, following Daniel Craig’s last hurrah with No Time To Die. Other names in the ring have included Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill. Madden does uniquely stand out since he hasn’t had the high-profile movie roles the others have had on the big-screen. Watching Superman, Loki or Venom’s Eddie Brock sip martinis wouldn’t make for as believable James Bonds, don’t you think?

Sean Bean also makes a strong case for Richard Madden’s acting chops to The Sun, detailing a balanced combination of skills needed for a James Bond actor. “Presence” being a key ingredient. Bean should know. He once played a Bond villain in 1995’s GoldenEye, opposite Pierce Brosnan.

Both Sean Bean and Richard Madden were important characters in Game of Thrones, but had unpleasant deaths early in the show's run. Ned Stark's death was a pivotal point later in Season 1, and Rob Stark's unfolded in Season 3. Since then, Bean has been actively turning down roles where he dies and Madden has enjoyed watching the HBO series as a viewer.

But with an upcoming role in Marvel’s Phase Four, Madden may be all booked up. The Robb Stark actor has just signed on to play Ikaris alongside Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry and Kumail Nanjiani in The Eternals. Who knows, the superhero team could be the next Avengers!

Also, there’s no telling when another James Bond will be announced. Daniel Craig just wrapped No Time To Die, his fifth and final appearance as 007. The movie will tie up the stories from Skyfall and Spectre when it hits theaters in April 2020.

What do you think? Would you like to see Richard Madden play James Bond next? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.