Amazon bosses have named Amy Pascal and David Heyman as producers of the next James Bond movie and must now decide who will become the new 007.
Both have a "track record in franchise filmmaking", said The Hollywood Reporter. "Pascal is behind the Spider-Man franchise" and Heyman "shepherded" the Harry Potter film series, including the Fantastic Beasts spin-offs, both to "commercial highs".
Amazon MGM Studios, which took over creative control of the Bond franchise earlier this year, said it was "approaching every creative decision" with the "greatest sense of responsibility", and all eyes are on Daniel Craig's replacement for what is being called "Bond 26".
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It's been more than three years since Craig bowed out as James Bond in the explosive finale of "No Time to Die". Since then the rumour mill has been working non-stop with tip-offs about who could replace him and when the next film will be released.
The film's bosses have been given "a whopping £250 million budget to get the next 007 movie on screen within the next three years", said The Sun. The sale to Amazon "has prompted a fast track of creative meetings to build a new script, officially sign the new 007 and land a director", with "honchos" hoping it will "be in cinemas before the end of 2027".
Who is in the running to be Bond?
Theo James
Theo James in The Gentlemen
(Image credit: Christopher Rafael / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection / Shutterstock)
The 40-year-old British actor shot up the bookmakers' lists after starring in Netflix's crime series "The Gentlemen", in which he plays aristocrat Edward Horniman. He also won over fans in "Divergent" and "The White Lotus". His appearances in Hugo Boss and Dolce & Gabbana adverts would not be out of place in a 007 movie.
Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill at The Witcher premiere
(Image credit: Juan Naharro Gimenez / Getty Images for Netflix)
When Jeff Bezos asked his X followers earlier this year who should play the next James Bond, the "answer shouted with a deafening yell" was Henry Cavill, said Forbes. The "Superman" and "Witcher" star has a "legion of superfans" and "existing connections to Amazon" after signing up to produce and star in its hotly anticipated "Warhammer 40,000" project. He even auditioned for the role of Bond "way back when" but lost out to Craig because he looked too young at the time.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Aaron Taylor-Johnson at the Kraven the Hunter premiere
(Image credit: Erik Pendzich / Shutterstock)
The 34-year-old British actor has been among the front-runners since rumours began to swirl that he was formally offered the role. Taylor-Johnson demonstrated his action-hero credentials as the lead in "Kick-Ass", and as Quicksilver in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". With his "classic movie star looks", said CNN, he is "a no-brainer" for 007.
James Norton
James Norton at the BFI London Film Festival
(Image credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images for BFI)
Norton has established himself as a TV star, garnering praise for his roles in "Happy Valley", "War & Peace" and "Grantchester". But he is "yet to prove that he's true blockbuster material", said GQ, so the "transition from beloved TV actor to the face of the world's biggest action franchise" may be too big an ask.
Jack Lowden
Jack Lowden on the set of Slow Horses
(Image credit: Joan Wakeham / Shutterstock)
Dismiss this young actor “at your peril”, said Esquire. Lowden has plenty of films under his belt: he's appeared in dramas "Denial", "'71" and "Small Axe", action film "Dunkirk" and period pieces "Mary Queen of Scots" and "War & Peace". The "Slow Horses" star has already proven he's an excellent spy, and he's in "the prime slot" for "grooming into the next 007". Though many big names are swirling around in casting conversations, the Scottish actor might just end up being the "dark horse successor".
Harris Dickinson
Harris Dickinson at the Venice International Film Festival
(Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images)
The "Beach Rats" star has just been cast as John Lennon in a four-part Beatles film biopic due out in April 2028, directed by "Skyfall" and "Spectre" director Sam Mendes. But he is also among the bookmakers' favourites for Bond. He had a "leading role in 'The King's Man', a spy thriller that owes an obvious debt to classic James Bond movies", said Screen Rant. And his role in films like "Babygirl" opposite Nicole Kidman "showcase his potential as both a romantic lead and a darker version of 007".
Josh O'Connor
Josh O'Connor at the 2024 Met Gala in New York
(Image credit: Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images)
O'Connor was nominated for a Bafta for his performance as Prince Charles in "The Crown". He will be starring in the third outing of Craig's "Knives Out" Netflix crime films and rumour has it the former Bond thinks he'd make a good successor. "Josh definitely brings a different energy to the table, and he's kind of a throwback to how Bond was described in the original Ian Fleming books way back when," an insider told US gossip magazine In Touch. With reports that the Amazon team might turn the next movie into a prequel set in the 1950s or 1960s, this might work in his favour.
Callum Turner
Callum Turner in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
(Image credit: Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection / Shutterstock)
Best known for his roles in the mini-series "Masters of the Air" and "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore", the 35-year-old British actor is a relative unknown, compared to some of the other favourites. He is "currently a tabloid obsession thanks to his relationship with Dua Lipa", said Time Out, and he has the "charisma and chameleonic skillset to take on the mantle of Britain's most famous fictional spy".
Fans of the "Bridgerton" heart-throb are itching to see him don the Bond tuxedo, said US entertainment site Collider. Though the British actor has only "teased" an action-hero presence, his stand-out performance as Simon Basset displayed the "sophisticated suaveness" that's key to a good Bond. As Page is sitting on the "precipice of super stardom", he could make for the "refreshing" pick the Bond franchise needs.
The 32-year-old Englishman is "best known for his role as the macho love interest on 'Emily in Paris'" and was a series regular on Fox's horror-comedy "Scream Queens". He's a "hard-to-achieve mix of scary and charismatic", said the New York Post. "Besides his frighteningly symmetrical bone structure", Laviscount would "bring back the humour and delight" that made Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan so popular.
But perhaps "the ultimate 007 actor should not be famous at all". No Superman. No action movie heroes. No "obvious A-lister". "It's vital for our escapism that the man disappears completely into the iconic role."
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Richard Windsor is a freelance writer for The Week Digital. He began his journalism career writing about politics and sport while studying at the University of Southampton. He then worked across various football publications before specialising in cycling for almost nine years, covering major races including the Tour de France and interviewing some of the sport’s top riders. He led Cycling Weekly’s digital platforms as editor for seven of those years, helping to transform the publication into the UK’s largest cycling website. He now works as a freelance writer, editor and consultant.
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