James Bond favourite Daniel Craig will be putting down his martini after No Time To Die, making way for a new actor to take up the mantle. While Tom Hardy has long been slated for the job, he has now been ousted by someone who was previously an outsider: Sam Heughan. Previously, the Outlander star was barely even a contender and was priced a measly 75-1.

Now, he’s raced ahead of the likes of Hardy and the Venom actor’s Peaky Blinders co-star Cillian Murphy to take a spot in the top three favourites. According to Paddy Power, Heughan’s odds have been slashed dramatically from 75-1 to 8-1. This puts him behind favourite James Norton (2-1) and Tom Hiddleston (9-2). Meanwhile, Hardy has been bumped to fourth on the list at 9-1. READ MORE: JAMES BOND: NEW 007 SHOCK AS CHANCES OF CONTROVERSIAL CASTING INCREASE

James Bond: The new 007 actor could be Outlander star Sam Heughan

James Bond: Outlander star Sam Heughan's odds of taking over as Bond have been slashed

READ MORE James Bond: Here’s why Daniel Craig may STILL do one more 007 movie “Forget Sean Connery, it’s more like From Balmaclellan With Love as Sam Heughan’s chances of becoming the next James Bond just shortened massively,” a Paddy Power spokesperson told Express.co.uk. “He was as large as 75-1 with us this morning, but due to a large, sustained period of bets we’ve had to cut him into 8-1 – putting him amongst the favourites now.” Heughan, who is best known as Jamie Fraser in Outlander, has previously revealed he would love the chance to bring Bond back to Scotland. “I think any actor who says they wouldn’t [want to play Bond] would be lying,” he told STV earlier this year. “I think it’s about time we had a Scottish Bond again.

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“I think Fleming had a good connection with Scotland and I believe James Bond was supposed to have been bought up in Scotland,” the Scottish actor continued. However, he also acknowledged the number of actors he would have to beat to get the part, saying: “I know I’ve got competition out there, so we’ll see what happens.” In another interview with The Scottish Sun, Heughan joked he would only play Bond if he was allowed to wear a kilt in character. Meanwhile, the Outlander favourite has in fact auditioned for 007 before when bosses were casting for Casino Royale — when Craig got the part. DON’T MISS… James Bond star says 'My heart QUAKES' at idea of female after Craig [INTERVIEW] James Bond: Did No Time To Die's Ana De Armas let slip MAJOR detail? [THEORY] James Bond: No Time To Die bosses get sneaky about spoilers [SPOILERS]

“I didn’t action for Bond a long time ago when they were redoing it with Daniel Craig when he was Bond 21,” he said on Live with Kelly and Ryan. “They were going to go younger with him and it was a pretty good experience. It’s about time we got a Scottish Bond,” he added. To add fuel to the fire, Bond bosses have a history of casting actors who have previously auditioned for 007. Both Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were strongly linked to the part years before they ended up taking it.

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