Tom Hiddleston commanded attention on the red carpet in New York City this week, attending the premiere for the highly-anticipated second series of The Night Manager.
Dapper Premiere Appearance Sparks Bond Speculation
The 44-year-old British actor cut a supremely dapper figure on Wednesday night, dressed in a light grey checked double-breasted blazer and matching trousers. He completed the sophisticated look with a coordinated scarf and a crisp white shirt, appearing in excellent spirits as he reunited with co-star Diego Calva, who opted for a sharp black suit.
The event celebrated the return of the hit BBC One spy drama, which aired its first new episode in nearly a decade this past Sunday. The series once again follows Hiddleston as former British intelligence operative Jonathan Pine.
Viewers Draw Direct 007 Comparisons
Following the broadcast of episode two, viewers swiftly took to social media platform X to voice their enthusiastic reactions, with many drawing direct parallels to the James Bond franchise.
One viewer noted, 'The night manager episode two very good... half the plot of Licence to Kill.' This sentiment was widely echoed, with numerous fans declaring the series to be Hiddleston's ideal audition tape for the role of 007.
'Night Manager is Tom Hiddleston's audition for bond and I think it's successful,' wrote one, while another stated, 'if Tom Hiddleston ever wanted to play James Bond, this series is his audition tape.' The comparison to the 1989 Bond film Licence to Kill was a recurring theme among the commentary.
A Deep Dive into the Deadly Plot
The narrative of the new series has escalated quickly. The second episode saw Pine's mission shift from London to Colombia, where he began a deep-cover infiltration of a dangerous new arms operation. Adopting the alias Matthew Goodwin, he posed as the hard-drinking son of a merchant banker to get close to Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos, played by Diego Calva.
His objective is to uncover the truth behind a mysterious shipment in Cartagena. The perilous nature of his assignment was immediately clear, with Dos Santos testing Pine's loyalty by forcing him to consume cocaine and spiked champagne. After a near-drowning in a swimming pool, Pine managed to deliver a convincing cover story, claiming he stole millions and needs Dos Santos to launder it.
The synopsis promises that the MI6 operative will be plunged deeper into a deadly plot involving arms and the training of a guerrilla army, facing 'betrayal at every turn'. He must race to expose a conspiracy designed to destabilise a nation, deciding who he can trust and how far he's willing to go.
The stellar cast for series two includes returning stars Olivia Colman and Alistair Petrie, alongside new additions such as Camila Morrone as Pine's new love interest Roxana Bolaños, Indira Varma, and Hayley Squires.
