The next James Bond race is hotting up as Amazon MGM fast track the next 007 movie, having bought creative control from EON Productions in a near-$1 billion deal.

The latest shake-up in the bookies race has seen a little-known actor’s odds slashed by 95 per cent from 100-1 to 5-1.

Coral’s John Hill shared: “We have been caught off this guard by a gamble on Mike Dickman in the last 48 hours.

“When we first took a bet on the actor, we had to Google who he was!

“After a flurry of bets, he has now emerged as a big player in the race to replace Daniel Craig.”

The little-known actor of Barbie and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the longtime partner of Sir Paul McCartney’s ex-wife, Heather Mills. According to The Mirror, the 40-year-old had talks with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. A source said: “The two of them met up in London last January, and it was a very cordial meeting about something unrelated during which Barbara brought up Bond. Mike ended up sending an audition tape.”

It’s unknown if there were any follow-up talks or if Amazon MGM are still interested given that Broccoli has now relinquished her 007 creative control for a tidy sum. Whatever the case, here are the latest next Bond odds in full: “5-2 Theo James, 3-1 James Norton, 7-2 Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 5-1 Mike Dickman, 5-1 Josh O’Connor, 6-1 Callum Turner, 8-1 Henry Cavill, 8-1 Jack Lowden, 33-1 Stephen Graham.”