The internet was abuzz overnight with the latest announcement about the potential future James Bond, with several global publications reporting that screen testing is officially underway and a final shortlist of six actors is in place.
Of course, we’ve been burned by the James Bond rumour mill before.
We fell in love with Idris Elba and then watched that dream die a slow, multi-year death. We saw huge potential in a new-generation Bond in Dev Patel (especially after his performance in his directorial debut, Monkey Man). Though he publicly distanced himself from a role he felt would be given to him as a tokenistic gesture for diversity’s sake. Fair enough.
We also got very excited in 2024 when UK tabloids reported that Aaron Taylor-Johnson was officially offered the role, even earning his official call-up with OMEGA, Bond’s cinematic timepiece of choice. But every time we get our hopes up, they’re eventually dashed after a long drawn-out wait.
It’s worth noting here that none of the big industry mags like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have chimed in on this latest rumour yet – which suggests that so far it’s a ‘he said, so she said, so he said’ kind of situation. And just as DC Studios won’t be rushing to find its next Batman, nobody at Amazon MGM Studios is in any hurry to quash this free PR.
But while we’re taking this latest round of speculation about the new Bond with a grain of salt, it also feels like we are getting close. After all, Amy Pascal did recently confirm that a new Bond will be announced by the end of 2026. It tracks.
Who are ‘the final six’ in the running for Bond?
As far as we can tell, this particular wave of speculation was ignited by Page Six, which reported that Jack Barton, Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, and Harris Dickinson were all screen testing for Bond in September.
The article’s actual wording is that sources say testing is scheduled and the list includes these actors. The onslaught of reporting since then seems to have run with this as an official final shortlist. Whether or not that is true is anyone’s guess.
But assuming there’s no smoke without fire, here are the latest names most widely associated with the Bond casting rumours today.
Jack Barton
Best known for playing David Nelson in the Netflix coming-of-age drama Heartstopper, Jack Barton is an up-and-coming actor who fits squarely in the young, relatively unknown British bracket that director Denis Villeneuve seems keen on.
His recent credits include playing real-life SAS soldier John Tonkin in Rogue Heroes – a series created by Steven Knight, who also happens to be writing the next James Bond script.
Jack Lowden
If ever there was an unofficial public audition for James Bond, it’s playing the lead in Slow Horses. While this darkly funny British spy thriller is nowhere near as glamorous as 007’s exploits, it repeatedly demonstrates the thirty-six-year-old actor’s ability to balance grit and depth with the tough action sequences Bond demands.
While he’s now a recognisable face, he’s not yet a huge movie star, another quality the Bond team repeatedly stress is important. He could also bring a decent amount of strength and physicality to the role.
Callum Turner
Almost creepily similar to George Lazenby, Callum Turner fits the classic James Bond mould. In terms of acting chops, his role in the romantic fantasy comedy Eternity showed an interesting romantic yet comedic side to his abilities, while Fantastic Beasts, Masters of the Air, and The Boys in the Boat show that he can comfortably handle physicality and action in large-scale productions.
Paul Mescal
Although his experience may work against him, Paul Mescal’s resume – spanning everything from indies like Normal People and Aftersun to blockbuster behemoths like Gladiator II – is a pretty decent campaign for a seat at the Bond table.
At thirty, he’s in the right age bracket to realistically carry the next three or four movies, but as an in-demand actor in Hollywood, his availability could get in the way.
Harris Dickinson
The rumours around this other thirty-year-old have given us mixed signals, to say the least. While widely reported to be in the running, Harris Dickinson also made headlines when sources claimed he’d actively stepped back from the role, citing exhaustion from playing John Lennon across Sam Mendes’s four-part Beatles saga.
Similarly to Paul Mescal (who is also starring in the Beatles movies), he has a proven track record of handling grit and depth in indies like Beach Rats as well as high-octane physicality in spy movies like The King’s Man.
Jacob Elordi
While he’s carving out a pretty decent career as Hollywood’s leading man, Jacob Elordi remains a logistical outsider for the James Bond role – if for no other reason than being Australian. Denis Villeneuve has previously stated that he wants to protect Bond’s traditional legacy and is looking for a British (or Irish) actor. Also, this is probably one of the only situations where being Oscar-nominated could weirdly be a disadvantage.
That aside, Elordi’s name is consistently in the mix. And with his recent role in Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars demonstrating his ability to handle physical action and emotional versatility – coupled with his fashion icon status as Cartier ambassador – he does tick many of the boxes. Cool, calm, good-looking, and carrying a Dalton-esque quality, I wouldn’t discount him yet.
What have Amazon MGM actually said about the latest Bond casting?
Variety reported in May that Nina Gold, the casting director behind Game of Thrones, The Crown, and Les Misérables, was on the case.
Amazon MGM Studios also released a statement earlier this year confirming that the search for the next James Bond was indeed underway.
“While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
So there doesn’t seem to be any official confirmation of a shortlist coming straight from the horse’s mouth, but plenty of apparent ‘sources’ suggest we may be in the final stretch of the Bond casting marathon.
Our wild card picks for the next James Bond
Whether or not you believe the latest rumours about an official Bond shortlist, I’ve got my own thoughts on the matter.
Setting aside the fact that I’m still grieving Idris Elba as Bond and haven’t quite forgiven Daniel Craig for not passing the baton after Skyfall, here are some of my current picks for Bond.
Jack O’Connell
Jack O’Connell has plenty of that tough-guy, rough-around-the-edges charm to pick up where Daniel Craig left off.
You just need to look at him in Rogue Heroes to see that. But he’s also an incredibly versatile actor who is more than capable of bringing depth, substance, and the broken-soul darkness that lies beneath Bond’s slick exterior. I was particularly impressed with his portrayal of Blake Fielder-Civil in the 2024 Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black.
Daryl McCormack
While he’s more striking than brutishly he-man handsome, Irish actor Daryl McCormack would bring an interesting combination of softness and intensity to Bond, along with the classic suave charm 007 is renowned for. A bit of Roger Moore but less campy and with more understated finesse.
He proved in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande that he can more than hold his own against established heavyweights like Emma Thompson, and his performance in Bad Sisters and Peaky Blinders backs his ability to slip into a darker and more morally ambiguous role when required.
Leo Woodall
Baby-faced Leo Woodall with credits like One Day and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy may be too pretty-boy rom-com for some, but after his recent performance as a coked-out junior chef with anger issues in the Anthony Bourdain biopic, Tony, he’s worth considering. He’d certainly be a wild card choice, but an exciting one that could pleasantly surprise us all.
So after all of that… the next Bond is still very much up in the air. We cannot confirm or deny the rumours of a final six, but what we can promise is that we’ll be keeping a close eye on this race.