The name is Bond, James Bond. We know that. But who will be the next man behind the famous nickname? According to Amazon MGM Studios, the company that now owns the rights to the character created by Ian Fleming, the casting process has begun.
“The search for the next James Bond is underway,” Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement this week. “While we don’t plan to discuss specific details during the casting process, we are excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
The British secret agent has been played by multiple actors since Sean Connery’s debut in 1962. doctor no. More recently, Daniel Craig played Bond in five films, starting with 2006. Royal casino and ending with 2021 There is no time to diewhich saw the death of his version of 007. Now everyone is guessing who could be next, and some actors are volunteering to take over.
Here’s what we know about Bond’s future, including who could play him next.
What we know about the next Bond movie
In February 2025, Amazon MGM Studios reached a deal with James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, giving the company creative control over the 007 franchise for the first time. This came four years after Amazon reached a deal to buy MGM, in part due to the success of the Bond franchise.
Now Amazon MGM Studios is finally taking steps to bring a new version of the super spy to life. Director Denis Villeneuve was chosen to direct the next installment of the franchise, with his Dune Producer and documentary filmmaker Tanya Lapointe signs on as executive producer. Amy Pascal, producer of Ave Maria Project, and David Heyman, producer of the eight harry potter movies, will produce the film.
Screenwriter Steven Knight, known for Eastern Promises and also co-create Who wants to be a millionaire? —will write the script.
“It’s always been on my wish list and it’s fantastic to be asked to do it,” Knight said in a 2025 interview with BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. “I can’t wait to get started. I hope that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will rub off on me and I can produce something that is the same but different and better, stronger and bolder.”
At CinemaCon in April, Courtenay Valenti, Amazon MGM’s head of film, praised the creative team, saying they were “setting the stage for something that is truly worthy of the Bond legacy.”
What we know about Bond casting
Casting for Bond has been closely guarded, and Variety reported this week that casting director Nina Gold is helping find the ideal actor to play the character. Gold is known for broadcasting programs such as game of Thrones and the crown as well as movies like Conclave and Hamnetthe latter of which was nominated for the Academy Awards’ first casting Oscar.
While Bond has previously been played by a non-star (George Lazenby, the Australian actor who played Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Servicehad no film experience before becoming 007), it seems that a well-known actor will probably get the role this time. In November 2023, Broccoli told Yahoo Entertainment: “We are totally open to casting someone who is not a star, but acting is a very specialized profession, and if someone has to carry a movie and meet all the requirements, [for Bond] “Physically speaking, it won’t be someone who’s never done it before.”
Who has commented on the Bond rumors?
For a while, it seemed like every single charming actor, particularly those who hailed from Britain, was in line for the role and was forced to respond to the rumors. Régé Jean-Paul de Bridgerton fame told tonight’s show In 2021, that speculation about him as the next Bond was “like a merit badge,” but he stopped short of confirming any casting rumors.
Idris Elba, a longtime fan favorite for the role, fueled speculation in December when he posed in a wax museum next to statues of actors who had previously played the role. But it came two years after Elba shut down those same rumors, telling reporters at the World Government Summit in 2023: “You know, a lot of people talk about another character that starts with ‘J’ and ends with ‘B,’ but I’m not going to be that guy. I’m going to be John Luther. That’s what I am.” And he previously said The store podcast in 2022 that playing Bond was not a “goal” of his career.
Right now, it seems like anyone could be Bond, but there are some fan favorites. At the moment, Eternity Star Callum Turner tops the list of contenders on the Kalshi betting market. However, the actor told reporters at the Berlin Film Festival that it was “too early” for that conversation and that he would not comment on the matter.
Kalshi also put Euphoria Actor Jacob Elordi is the 19% favorite for the role, but so far the star, who is from Australia, has yet to comment.
Behind Elordi in Kalshi is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but at the premiere of his film in June 2025 28 years later, The English actor said he “cannot speak” about casting speculation. He previously told Numéro magazine that it is “lovely and wonderful that people see me in that role” and that he takes it “as a great compliment.”
Other names that have appeared in the press include Challengers star Josh O’Connor, who starred with Craig in the film Wake up dead man.
“I don’t really have any thoughts,” O’Connor told Deadline in January 2025. “The truth is… I think in the space of a week, I made a joke about, wouldn’t it be funny if I played Bond? So, Daniel and I [Craig] I did an ‘Actors on Actors,’ and then something else happened, and suddenly I was James Bond. If I’m Bond, I don’t know.”
spider man Star Tom Holland, who is also rumored to be in the mix, spoke out about the casting rumors. He told Gordon Ramsey’s YouTube series. Scrambled in August 2025, “I mean, every young British actor is the pinnacle of their work in our industry.” Holland is a big fan of the franchise: he told Total Film in 2022 that he approached a studio about an origin story for the character.
Meanwhile, little girl Star Harris Dickinson, another British actor believed to be in the running, spoke to a journalist about Bond at Cannes this month, prompting Wicked Star Jonathan Bailey would be a great choice. Bailey previously said on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show in June 2025 that it would be “hard to say no” to the role.
But ultimately, only one person can say yes, assuming the offer is on the table. Who it will be is anyone’s guess at this point.
