Bond 26 promises to be one of the most hotly-anticipated instalments the entire franchise has ever seen - especially given how long it has taken to find Daniel Craig's successor.
Almost four years on from when Craig first announced he was stepping down, a number of factors - from Covid to the ongoing Hollywood strikes - have made the hiring process rather tricky.
Plus, there's the fact Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is keen to tie the next actor in for the long haul, with a "10-12 year" commitment wanted by bosses.
In the meantime, bookmakers across the globe have been taking bets on who punters think will be the man to step into 007's shoes.
For much of 2023, the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Henry Cavill, and James Norton have been amongst the frontrunners and in more recent months, Damson Idris and Harris Dickinson have entered the fray.
However, in new data from the latest shift in the market - exclusively obtained by GB News - one of these actors has found themselves "drifting" from the front of the pack.
Daniel Craig has played James Bond since 2006
UNIVERSAL PICTURESThe actor in question is none other than Happy Valley star James Norton, who garnered mass popularity for his role in the BBC series.
He's had his odds stretched to 7/2 to land the Bond role this week after being priced at 5/2 just seven days ago, according to bettingsites.co.uk.
Instead, Snowfall's Damson Idris remains the all-out frontrunner at 2/1 while Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson remains one to watch at 9/4.
Neil Roarty, spokesperson for bettingsites.co.uk, said of the shift: "We’ve seen plenty of twists and turns in the race to decide the next James Bond and the latest has seen Snowfall star Damson Idris rise to the summit of the betting, with his odds shortening to 2/1.
"Idris has managed to supplant former favourite James Norton, who has drifted out to 7/2."
Norton isn't the only one to have found his chances take a drastic shift in the past few days.
Although this time, it's in a much more positive light for actor Harris Dickinson who entered the running earlier this summer.
Roarty explained: "One name to watch out for though is Where the Crawdads Sing’s Harris Dickinson as he continues his rise.
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James Norton (left) has long been tipped as a frontrunner in the race to play Bond
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"(He has) seen his odds contract once more from 11/2 to 9/2 to become the current fifth favourite for the role of Bond."
This places both Dickinson and Norton a lot closer in the odds than anyone could've foreseen a matter of months ago.
Elsewhere, Superman star Cavill continues to remain a steady presence among the favourite with his price of 4/1.
There is now slim hope that the likes of Tom Hardy or Paapa Essiedu could bag the role as both are now priced at 11/1.
The same goes for Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer frontman Cillian Murphy as well as Game of Thrones' Richard Madden whose chances look even thinner at 14/1 apiece.
