James Bond bosses having early conversations about Daniel Craig’s replacement

Now that Daniel Craig has had his last run as James Bond, fans of the series are dying to know who the next actor will be to assume the 007 mantle. And it looks like we might be finding out sooner than expected.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pamela Abdy, an executive at MGM, the studio that produces the Bond films, explained how they are already taking the first steps into finding their new star.

Asked whether she already knew who will take over the iconic role, Abdy explained: "It’s wide open."

She added: "We’ve had very early preliminary conversations with [Bond producers] Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [Wilson], but we wanted Daniel to have his last hurrah."

In September Broccoli said in a chat with BBC Radio 4 that the hunt for the next Bond would not begin until the new year.

“We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future,” she said.

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So it already looks like things are moving along quicker than even insiders planned, which bodes well for an announcement to come in the near future.

Craig said farewell to the role he played for 15 years in the recently released No Time To Die, after first taking on the role for 2006's Casino Royale.

He was the sixth actor to portray Ian Fleming’s legendary spy over 25 movies to date.

After he officially retired from the role, fans quickly grew ripe with speculations on who would replace him.

Read more: How Pierce Brosnan became James Bond nine years before his first 007 film

Some of the rumoured names include the likes of Venom's Tom Hardy, Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page, The Suicide Squad's Idris Elba and Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden.

Watch: Daniel Craig talks about his struggles when he was first cast as James Bond