There has been constant chatter online about who is going to play the next James Bond. One name that has popped up consistently is Taron Egerton, an actor who rose to fame with Kingsman and all its iconic fight scenes. But while Egerton certainly rocks it in the world of espionage, he openly admits that he loves grittier roles more – in fact, it's what he would want to do over those precise fight films.
When I spoke to Egerton about his new thriller on the 2025 movie schedule, She Rides Shotgun, I asked him what the difference was in filming the intense, raw fight scenes for this film and the precise battles in movies like Kingsman, Carry-On, and more. I also asked about which was more difficult. Egerton was honest in his response, expressing that the fighting he does in this film, where it's a lot more grounded and emotionally based, is much more "reflective" of what he loves:
To be honest, this is more reflective of my taste. I think those other projects you mentioned, I love and I'm so proud of. But for me, the grounded nature of this, the very stripped-back style of it, is more probably in line with the kind of movies I would pick to watch.
This lines up, as Egerton has openly said in response to journalists asking about the idea of him playing James Bond that he wouldn't be good at it and be “too messy.” In any James Bond movie, the character is all about stylish fighting. While he can pull it off, he made it clear that he prefers the style of his She Rides Shotgun character, Nate, who is about as grounded as it comes.
The film overall leans in that direction too. It follows a former convict who is looking to start a new life with his daughter, but of course, some evil men are after him the moment he gets out of prison, and he has to protect his kid. You can't get more relatable in fighting when you're taking on someone to keep your child safe, which is why Egerton feels that the fights are better, because the "stakes" are higher:
I think the reason it feels more raw is aside from a question of style. I think it's also because the stakes feel more real. I think the stakes in this movie feel more real than they do in the other movies you mentioned because there's a child at stake, and I hope that the love between those characters is palpable, that you can really feel it.
The stakes in the best spy movies, to me, are rarely a lot more personal. Most of the time (at least in my experience), it's the whole world at stake, or some big business, or secrets that could be unleashed to the ether – in other words, the stakes revolve around something huge that is crazy to think of but doesn't necessarily affect you personally. Therefore, it's not as relatable.
While She Rides Shotgun isn't a spy thriller whatsoever, Egerton is right that the stakes feel much higher. The idea of a little girl, who has nothing to do with the bad things happening to her, being forced to get involved in something like this is awful. And that led to the expert story.
It's clear that She Rides Shotgun means a lot to Egerton – in fact, he almost got a tattoo from the movie, but his family stopped him. And if these are the kinds of fights we might see him in the future, rather than super spy flicks, then I'm all for it.
