Amazon MGM Studios has officially begun the search for the next James Bond, setting in motion a casting process that could end five years of speculation since Daniel Craig’s final outing in No Time To Die. Auditions have been taking place in recent weeks, and the studio said on Thursday that the hunt for the new 007 is now under way.
The timing matters because the franchise’s next era is already being assembled around the lead role. Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the 26th official Bond movie, Steven Knight is writing the script, and Amy Pascal and David Heyman are co-producing the film. Whoever gets the part will become the seventh official actor to play James Bond across the franchise’s 64-year history.
Tom Francis is among the names being watched as the process gathers pace, though Amazon MGM has not identified any candidates publicly. Courtenay Valenti, who oversees film at the company, acknowledged the attention around the casting and said: “I know you're all wondering when we're going to announce who's playing James Bond.”
She said the studio was moving carefully. “Please know that we're taking the time to do this with care and deep respect. It is the dream of a lifetime for all of us to bring audiences this next chapter, and it's a responsibility we don't take lightly,” Valenti said. She added that pairing “one of the most beloved franchises in history with a world-class film-making team” was setting the stage for something “truly worthy of the Bond legacy,” and said, “That film is coming, and when the time is right, we'll have much more to share.”
Amazon MGM took control of the Bond franchise 15 months ago, and the studio has been trying to turn ownership into a clear plan for the series’ future. On Thursday, it said: “The search for the next James Bond is under way,” while also declining to comment on specifics during the casting process and promising more news for 007 fans “as soon as the time is right.”
There is still no public announcement on who will take over the role, but the machinery around the film is now firmly in place. That makes the casting the last major piece before production can move from development to a new Bond chapter with a director, writer and producing team already attached. Knight said at the Bafta TV Awards last weekend that his work on the script was going fantastically, and he told News on Friday that he was “1,000% confident” people would love it when it appears.
