Everything We Know About The Next James Bond After This Week's Major Update & Shortlist Officially Narrowing

Published Sep 10, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Shawn S. Lealos is an entertainment writer who is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has written for Screen Rant, CBR, ComicBook, The Direct, The Sportster, Chud, 411mania, Renegade Cinema, Yahoo Movies, and many more. Shawn has a bachelor's degree in professional writing and a minor in film studies from the University of Oklahoma. He also has won numerous awards, including several Columbia Gold Circle Awards and an SPJ honor. He also wrote Dollar Deal: The Story of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers, the first official book about the Dollar Baby film program. Shawn is also currently writing his first fiction novel under a pen name, based in the fantasy genre. To learn more, visit his website at shawnlealos.net. James Bond is returning thanks to Amazon MGM Studios, but the studio has yet to reveal who will play Agent 007. The good news is that the casting news is coming soon, as there have already been auditions and testing, and the studio is rumored to have narrowed the James Bond search down to a handful of actors over the last month. Most of the actors are young enough to play Bond for over a decade, but the waiting game continues. James Bond debuted in movies in 1962 with Dr. No, and Sean Connery set a bar that seemed impossible for anyone else to reach when he took on the role of Bond. George Lazenby tried, but he only lasted one movie. Roger Moore signed on with Live and Let Die and starred in seven movies, bringing camp and kitsch to the franchise. Timothy Dalton brought a dark edge that was a decade too soon and only lasted for two movies before Pierce Brosnan came on board as a pitch-perfect Bond. Sadly, Brosnan's movies got a little ridiculous over the years, and he was gone after four films. Daniel Craig then starred in some of the most critically acclaimed James Bond movies during his five-movie run. This means the new actor has a lot to live up to. Who Are The Favorites For The Next James Bond Actor? The shortlist for the next James Bond actor seems to be set, and the names on the list are all great young actors. According to reports, this list includes Jack Barton, Callum Turner, Paul Mescal, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson, and Jack Lowden. Amazon MGM Studios has not confirmed who will take on the role, and screenwriter Steven Knight said he can't reveal if anyone has been chosen for the role yet. Barton is an actor whose most notable appearances have been on TV with the comedy-drama Heartstopper and the British war series SAS: Rogue Heroes. Turner is a 36-year-old actor who played Theseus Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts movies, as well as taking on the lead role in the drama movie Queen and Country. Mescal earned an Oscar nomination for Aftersun and also starred in Hamnet in 2025. Elordi was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, and he appeared earlier in 2026 in the historical romance Wuthering Heights with Margot Robbie. Dickinson starred in the wrestling biopic The Iron Claw and the miniseries A Murder at the End of the World. Lowden stars in the Apple TV spy series Slow Horses and was in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. The Next James Bond Actor May Have Already Been Cast Some big news dropped when Gary Oldman spoke up in an interview and claimed that the new James Bond actor had already been cast. According to Oldman, "We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet." This is huge news, although there is no telling how Oldman would know this. The biggest thing about this quote is that Oldman is the star of Apple TV's Slow Horses, which stars Lowden. Lowden is on the shortlist, and he works closely with Oldman, so this might be the biggest clue to the new casting rumors. However, when Knight was asked about it, he refused to answer and said he was writing the script for Bond as a character, not for a particular actor. The James Bond Casting Search Reportedly Narrowed Last Month While the James Bond shortlist has been around since August, the list was seemingly narrowed down toward the end of August, and there were even more auditions held for the role. Older actors like Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy, and Idris Elba were already eliminated from the competition thanks to their age. Theo James dropped out of the race, and this narrowed the options down. This is where the six names listed above were mentioned as being in the final rounds of choices. However, Jack O'Connell is also reportedly still in the mix for the role. O'Connell gained recognition for his villain role in Sinners as well as his performance in SAS: Rogue Heroes, which also stars Barton. The New Bond Will Definitely Be Cast Before The End Of 2026 Denis Villeneuve is the man bringing James Bond into its next phase for Amazon MGM Studios, and he has plans to start production in 2027. That means that the new Bond actor will have to be cast before that happens. Depending on when production starts, the Bond actor could be announced anytime, although it will surely be sooner rather than later, so the film can get rolling. This was guaranteed by producer Amy Pascal. In an interview while promoting Spider-Man: Brand New Day, someone asked about the James Bond casting timeline, and she said, "The end of the year is a good bet." She also said the production process is "really, really methodical." The producer also said the important part is finding something exciting and different from what Craig brought to the role. When Will The Next Bond Debut? The James Bond movie production is set to start in 2027, with Villeneuve moving forward with his new franchise. This is a massive movie, so the shoot will likely be a long one, and that means it should stretch across much of the year. Between the production work, the shooting of the movie, the editing, and all the special effects work that is needed, this movie won't be out anytime before 2028. As a result, the James Bond casting rumors might be the most exciting news until 2027, when a possible look at the film's production arrives. Expect Amazon MGM Studios to drop some hints and clues on the next movie as the production rolls along, and the first big announcement should be the James Bond casting news, dropping presumably before the end of 2026. TV Show(s) Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond Video Game(s) GoldenEye 007, The World Is Not Enough, 007: Nightfire, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, Quantum of Solace, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, GoldenEye 007 Remake, 007: Agent Under Fire First Film Dr. No First TV Show Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond Genres Action Cast Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig