After installing Daniel Craig as James Bond and ending the months, no... make that years, of speculation over who was going to be slipping on the tux for the superspy's next mission, it was only a matter of time before the Bond girl hype-a-thon kicked off.
After scaring us half to death with rumours of Doctor Who sugary side-kick Billie Piper, Charlize Theron is now being touted as a possible shoe-in for the part of Vesper Lynd, the female lead in Casino Royale.
Theron's track record speaks for itself and her reputation for being able to deliver both gritty and stunning performances fits in with the spy franchise's new ethos of “more character, less gadgets” as director Martin Campbell puts it.
The character itself is said to be the meatiest Bond girl role to date and with Crash writer/director Paul Haggis working on the script, we're sure they'll be one long line of ladies queuing at the audition... shh... just don't tell Billie where it is.