Ever since Daniel Craig announced that he was leaving the role of James Bond, there has been a great deal of speculation, rumour, and suggestion as to who should be the James Bond in the next film.
Amazon – who owns a majority stake in the film franchise – has announced that the search for the new Bond has begun.
In a statement Amazon MGM Studios announced, “the search for the next James Bond is under way.” According to the industry publication “Variety” auditions have been ongoing for a few weeks.
Amazon added, “while we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
It has been five years since the last Bond film “No Time to Die” – the final film for Daniel Craig.
It was previously announced that Denis Villeneuve of “Dune” fame will be directing the new 007 adventure once filming begins with Steven Knight writing the script.
Variety further reports that one of the leading casting directors in Hollywood – Nina Gold – is in charge of finding the new James Bond. Previously Gold has worked on “Paddington”, “Star Wars”, “Jurassic Park”, and “Mamma Mia”.
Over the past five years there has been numerous names bandied about as a possible new Bond from screen icons like Idris Elba to a slew of new Hollywood up-starts. Unofficially, there are half-a-dozen actors who are rumoured to be the top runners:
Callum Turner is Dua Lipa’s current partner and has appeared in “Fantastic Beasts”, “The Capture”, and “Masters of the Air”.
Australian actor Jacob Elordi was nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Frankenstein”. He has also appeared in “Euphoria” and “Saltburn”.
The actor playing John Lennon in the upcoming “Beatles” biopic – Harris Dickinson – has also appeared in “Maleficent”, “The King’s Man”, “Where the Crawdad’s Sing”, “Babygirl”, and “A Murder at the End of the World”.
Thirty-five year old Aaron Taylor-Johnson has appeared in the films “Kick-Ass” and “Kraven the Hunter”.
While he has appeared in “Superman”, “The Witcher”, and “Mission: Impossible”, at 43 is Henry Cavill too old to be the newest hot super spy?
Also in his forties at 41, Theo James has been a part of the “Divergent” films, “The White Lotus”, and “The Gentlemen”.
The new James Bond 007 will join an impressive list of former Bond’s including Sir Sean Connery, Sir Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.