George Clooney has weighed into the race for the next James Bond, saying he hopes Callum Turner ends up taking the role. The endorsement lands while the search for James Bond 26 is still underway and the part has not yet been formally announced.
Clooney called Turner tall, handsome, charming and British, and said that makes him the perfect fit for 007. It is a clean show of support from a star with plenty of his own name recognition, and it arrives just as the new Bond project is trying to settle one of the most closely watched casting calls in film.
That attention is not hard to explain. Amazon MGM Studios has confirmed that auditions for James Bond 26 are underway, with casting director Nina Gold leading the search. The studio is reportedly looking for an actor in his 30s, while Denis Villeneuve is directing and Steven Knight is writing the script for a reboot that is meant to move the franchise into a new era after Daniel Craig's five-film run.
Turner, for his part, is not feeding the speculation. Speaking recently, the 36-year-old British actor said he genuinely knows nothing about the selection process and called the chatter amusing, saying even old friends text him about Bond while, in his words, nothing is actually happening. That disconnect is what gives the story its weight: he is widely described as the frontrunner and hot favorite to succeed Daniel Craig as 007, yet he says he has no inside knowledge at all.
The timing also matters. Principal photography is not expected to start until early 2027, which means a formal casting announcement could still come well before cameras roll. The studio has room to make a decision, but the longer the role stays open, the more every public comment, like Clooney's, becomes part of the build-up around a reboot that has already drawn Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jacob Elordi into the conversation.
For now, the only thing that is certain is that James Bond 26 is moving ahead without a named Bond. Clooney has picked his candidate. Turner says he knows nothing. The announcement that settles the question is still to come.
