Last week the Loki star suddenly became odds-on to replace Craig as James Bond.
However, following comments from an insider that 007 producers are lining up Madden, the Bodyguard lead is now the favourite at the bookies.
Madden is currently at 11-10 with Sky Bet and 5-4 with Coral, while Hiddleston is 5-2 and 6-4 respectively.
According to The Mail on Sunday, Madden will be offered Craig’s Bond role in the next few days.
The outlet reported: “It , that Barbara Broccoli, the executive producer at Eon Productions who has the final say on all Bond characters, is likely to approach Madden in the next few days.
Their source said: “It’s seriously looking like he [Madden] is going to get the job. Not only is he on top of Barbara’s list, but she is preparing to offer the role.”
Nevertheless, Bond fans should take such claims with a grain of salt.
Bond 25, Craig’s final outing, doesn’t even start shooting until March 2019.
Following a production delay, thanks to Cary Fukunaga replacing Danny Boyle as director, Bond 25 won’t release in cinemas until February 2020.
With this in mind, it’s highly unlikely that Bond producers will begin auditioning for Craig’s replacement until at least 2022 at the very earliest.
After all, the incumbent Bond wasn’t announced until three years after Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day had hit cinemas.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that Broccoli has actors in the back of her mind, but the focus, for now, will be on Craig and Bond 25.
Other actors in the running at the bookies are Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill, Aidan Turner, James Norton and Michael Fassbender.
Meanwhile, Broccoli recently confirmed that gender-swapping the character would not happen in the future.
Bond 25 will be released in UK cinemas on February 14, 2020.
