After Daniel Craig concluded his successful run as James Bond with last year's No Time To Die (after numerous delays due to the pandemic), it was reported that the search for the next Bond would begin in 2022. Now, according to industry sources cited by Deadline reporter Justin Kroll, we may be hearing about the casting decision as soon as March.

　　In a tweet, Kroll says that one source said we may be able to expect an announcement "after the Oscars," though he also warned to take this with a grain of salt. While not all that specific, the update implies we may be hearing about the next Bond sooner rather than later.

　　While it's been crickets on the #BondWatch scene, making it seem like this will be a long process, one source with a couple clients in the mix told me something interesting recently of when a decision may come down the pipeline, "I think we here who it is after the Oscars."

　　— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) January 26, 2022

　　While there are no solid leads on who might be in the mix to be the next Bond, there's plenty of speculation from industry figures and commentators. While former Bond Pierce Brosnan said in 2019 that he would like to see a woman play Bond, series producer Barbara Broccoli has said Bond will always be a man while she is at the helm of the franchise. Daniel Craig has also echoed these sentiments, saying that rather than casting a woman as Bond, there should be "there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman."

　　As far as who will play the next Bond, all Broccoli has said at this point is that the actor should definitely be British, but that he can be any ethnicity or race. When asked the question more recently, Brosnan put forward two actors he thought would be good as Bond--Idris Elba and Tom Hardy.

　　Tom Holland has previously put his own name forward for the role, saying he would "love to be James Bond" someday. John Boyega has also expressed interest in the role, as has The Witcher star Henry Cavill. Brigerton's Regé-Jean Page is also reportedly being considered for the role, but until we get an official announcement, there's no way to know for sure who will be stepping into James Bond's shoes next.