A Flurry of Bond Casting Rumors

With all eyes on the Superman casting drama the continuing fiasco around the James Bond franchise has been overlooked a wee bit ... here's what we got:

The hot rumor du jour says Colin Farrell. Farrell himself says no way. He's not been approached by anyone connected to the film and he's actually speculating that Brosnan throwing his name into the ring may have scuttled any chance he had.

Then there's Julian McMahon. The Nip/Tuck star's name surfaced in stories prior to his signing on as Dr. Doom in the Fantastic Four ... well, his mother has confirmed that he was indeed offered the part but that he turned it down due to his t.v. commitments. Turned down a major film role because of his role on Nip/Tuck? The short-season show that allowed ample time for his super-villain role? I don't see any way to read this other than McMahon giving the Bond producers a polite blow-off ...

Then there's P-Diddy. Stop laughing. I'm not making this up. The Puffy one says the world is ready for a black Bond and that it should be him. I said stop laughing! Sorry, Puff, but you're wrong. And even if hell froze over and they went for a black actor, the operative term would be 'actor'. They did learn a thing or two from the Lazenby experiment, after all.

So what's left? Well, Hugh Jackman continues to proclaim his lust for the part to whoever may happen to be in earshot, and the word is that the producers are now in early talks with Ewan McGregor. I kind of like the McGregor rumor, actually ... he's a great actor who can do pretty much anything he wants, he brings the right mix of style and physicality, and he would allow the producers to skew the part a little bit younger without going all pretty-boy pre-pubescent on us.