Next James Bond: who will be new 007 after Amazon takeover?

"Who'd you pick as the next Bond?". That was the question Amazon's Jeff Bezos asked on X as the company he founded announced it had acquired "creative control" of the spy franchise.

The Amazon deal could "open the door" to a long-awaited new film and a "potentially limitless avalanche" of spin-off TV shows, said The Guardian, but who will star as Bond going forward remains an unresolved and hotly discussed issue.

It's been more than three years since Daniel Craig bowed out as James Bond in the explosive finale of "No Time to Die", and since then the rumour mill has been working non-stop with tip-offs about who could replace him. Here are the key favourites to take over the Bond mantle.

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Aaron Taylor-Johnson

The 34-year-old British actor has been the front-runner since rumours began to swirl that he had been 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.

Henry Cavill

The "answer was loud and clear" when Bezos posed the question, said IGN – the "clear fan-favourite" is Henry Cavill.

He has credentials in portraying an iconic character, appearing as Superman since 2013 across a handful of DC movies. Cavill, 41, has signed up to star in and produce Amazon’s hotly anticipated "Warhammer 40,000" project, so he could "also sign on to star as Bond" for the company.

Paul Mescal

Irish actor Paul Mescal has long been on the list of new Bond potentials but surged into the spotlight with the release of "Gladiator II". Mescal has previously been dismissed by some commentators as not being the "right age", said London's The Standard. At 29, he would be the joint-youngest 007, sharing the title with George Lazenby.

But as recently as December Mescal was "second favourite" in the bookies' odds, said the Irish Mirror, following his Oscar nomination for the movie "Aftersun" – raising the possibility of a baby-faced Bond.

James Norton

Norton has established himself through his television performances, garnering praise for his roles in "Happy Valley", "War and Peace", and "Grantchester". While his acting ability would see him "easily slip into the role of the suave and sophisticated 007", said GQ, the "transition from beloved TV actor to the face of the world's biggest action franchise" may be too big an ask.

The British actor is "yet to prove that he’s true blockbuster material", but at 39 he is the right age to take on the role and carry it for "years to come".

Dev Patel

In "Monkey Man", Patel showed he could "throw punches, land high kicks" and "navigate wild car chases with ease", which "surely makes him a contender", said Vogue.

But speaking to Indie Wire in 2020, he cautioned that he would not take the role if it were part of a "diversity" drive and "just because of the tokenistic nature of me being a garnish". Instead, "if I feel like I can bring some truth out of this role or embody it well", then "that's what it should come down to".

Damson Idris

Londoner Damson Idris is one of the "exciting fresh names" in the running for the Bond role, said Metro. At 33, he is one of the younger candidates to take over the franchise, but has impressed in his burgeoning career with notable film roles in the "City of Tiny Lights" and "The Commuter", as well as TV performances in "Black Mirror" and "Snowfall".

His odds "unsurprisingly" improved after it was announced he would star alongside Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem in "F1", slated for release this summer.

Callum Turner

Best known for his roles in miniseries "Masters of the Air" and "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore", Turner's odds of becoming Bond were slashed in September.

The 34-year-old British actor is a relative unknown, compared to some of the other favourites, but his lack of a major role could mean it won't "infringe on his potential to be almost singularly associated with Bond once cast", something producers would "quite like to happen", said GQ.

Theo James

James has continued to be an international sensation since his breakthrough role in "Divergent", starring in "The White Lotus", "How it Ends" and the upcoming Stephen King horror movie "The Monkey". Now, he's "creeping up" behind Taylor-Johnson as frontrunner for the iconic Bond role, said MovieWeb.

The 40-year-old British actor has shot up the bookmakers' favourite lists since his work in Netflix's crime series "The Gentlemen", where he plays aristocrat Edward Horniman. In 2023, James told US broadcaster Sirius XM he didn't think he was right for Bond but, with betting markets seeing him as a serious threat to Taylor-Johnson, the actor may reconsider.

Jack Lowden

Dismiss this young actor “at your own 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".

Regé-Jean Page

Fans of the "Bridgerton" heartthrob 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.

Lashana Lynch

Her performance as the first female 00 agent, Nomi, in "No Time to Die", "really set tongues wagging", said Tatler. "Easily proving" her "mastery of the genre" as she shared the screen with outgoing 007 Daniel Craig, she left fans wondering if "she could be next to step into his shoes" – becoming "the first black" and "female" Bond in "one fell swoop".

Tilda Swinton

"Just hear us out", said CNN: the Oscar-winner is "such a chameleon", and "so compulsively watchable", that she would be "great in practically any role". She would "definitely make for a classy and unorthodox choice" as 007.

When will the next James Bond be announced?

In 2022, a year after "No Time to Die" came out, producer Barbara Broccoli told Variety the next Bond film was going to be "a couple of years off". Those two years have now passed, and "given how much time it takes to make a blockbuster movie", the gap between "No Time To Die" and the next film could "break the six-year record" for the longest period between Bond releases, said the BBC.

A "large gap" between the releases might be for the best anyway, "since Craig's Bond was so well-received, setting expectations high for his successor". As for Craig, when asked by Variety about his pick for the next Bond, the actor laughed and said, "I don't care."