Next James Bond: Tom Hiddleston distances himself from role, 'I don't think that announcement is coming'

The Night Manager actor is the current frontrunner to take over from Daniel Craig

The James Bond franchise has descended into a kind of mania of late.

The world is scrambling to crown the new 007, favours flitting from actor to actor; all while it still remains officially undecided whether Daniel Craig will even be leaving the franchise in the first place.

Tom Hiddleston, however, has become somewhat of a mainstay of people's lists; yet the actor himself is keen to temper the hype currently surrounding him. Appearing on a panel at Wizard World Philadelphia, Hiddleston responded to Bond rumours (via ComicBook.com); "I don't think that announcement is coming, but I am very gratified to hear the enthusiasm. Your guess is as good as mine, to be honest."

That certainly makes it sound as if those reports of the actor meeting with Bond producers are unfounded; then again, Hiddleston is best known for playing the trickster god Loki. So, maybe he's just deep in character for Thor: Ragnarok and is getting a lot of pleasure from pulling everyone's leg on this.

Honestly, it does seem incredibly unlikely Hiddleston will be snapping up the role; as pointed out by Sam Mendes, who has definitely left the franchise, Bond actors are never the expected choice.

It would really mark a first in the series for taking on an established actor, especially one with several franchises already on his hands; Daniel Craig came to Bond fairly untethered by his past experience, a relative unknown who was actually quite the unpopular choice at first, before he won over audiences with his bravado performance in Casino Royale.

Indeed, anyone looking for a likely candidate would perhaps be better off with Jamie Bell, following rumours the Billy Elliot star has met with producers to discuss the possibility of being Craig's heir to the role.

Also on the rumour mill is who will be replacing Mendes as director for the next instalment, with The Night Manager's Susanne Bier a reported frontrunner for the job.