Speculation is growing that Australian actor Jacob Elordi is a frontrunner to replace Daniel Craig as the new James Bond – and it appears to have film fans both shaken and stirred.

The 28-year-old has been in the spotlight in recent weeks for his star turn as the tortured Heathcliff in director Emerald Fennell’s divisive box office hit Wuthering Heights, and has also been nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein.

Now, some media reports claim Elordi has met with Denis Villeneuve, who is directing the upcoming 007 film, Bond 26, for Amazon/MGM.

Celebrity gossip site DeuxMoi has sent the rumours into overdrive by claiming the young Australian – who also starred in Fennell’s acclaimed Saltburn – has actually been offered the role of the debonair British spy.

There’s been no official confirmation, but if the speculation proves true Elordi would become the second Australian to play Bond after George Lazenby stepped into former 007 agent Sean Connery’s shoes for the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Service.

And, like Wuthering Heights, the idea is already dividing both critics and fans.

The Independent declared Elordi would make a brilliant replacement for Craig, who has previously said he would rather slash his wrists than play the spy again.

“Let’s call him Heathcliff Bond,” the newspaper suggested, lauding the Australian’s charm and animal magnetism.

“If Elordi can sell toxic Bronte passion to multiplexes, he can sell Bond. Easily.”

It noted that if Elordi was cast in the role, he would be both the youngest and the tallest Bond ever.

But the actor’s height is the key reason the UK Telegraph’s film critic reckons he would be all wrong as 007, declaring that his “wuthering height” should be a deal-breaker.

“This superspy’s new nemesis wouldn’t be Blofeld but low ceilings,” declared the headline on his article.

‘Heathcliff Bond’? Jacob Elordi stars alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights. Photo: Warner Bros

Opinion is also split among franchise fans, many of whom are insistent that Bond should be British.

“Most farcical pick they could make,” wrote one social media user. “Plenty of British men they can choose, if it’s true they’re not Bond movies.”

Other actors who have been touted for the role include Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, Callum Taylor and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, so Elordi fans may not want to get too excited just yet.

When asked previously about the Bond rumours, Elordi himself said: “That’s beautiful… I just like that people maybe want to put me in their movies. That makes me really glad.”