MOVIE NEWS – Five years have passed since Daniel Craig’s James Bond made his unprecedented exit in No Time to Die, yet his successor still has not been announced. A new report claims Amazon MGM has begun sending genuine contenders test deals, meaning the identity of the next 007 could finally be revealed before the end of 2026.
It has now been five years since James Bond died onscreen. The 2021 release No Time to Die brought Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007 to an end in a way the franchise had never attempted before, and speculation about who will inherit the role has barely stopped since. The discussion has been particularly relentless in Britain, where bookmakers continue to treat the identity of the next Bond as an open race.
The situation became even more interesting after Amazon completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM and later assumed creative control of the James Bond franchise. Denis Villeneuve has been installed as director of what is being positioned as a fresh start, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight writing the screenplay. Meanwhile, casting rumors have continued cycling through supposed frontrunners including Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner and Jack Lowden, with Heartstopper actor Jack Barton emerging more recently. Anyone who has stopped trying to keep track of the constantly changing favorites may now have had good reason to do so.
According to a new report from Puck’s Matthew Belloni, Amazon MGM has begun sending test deals to actors who are genuinely being considered for the role. If that process is already underway, the actual pool of contenders could become much clearer over the next few weeks, with formal screen tests for Denis Villeneuve potentially following later this fall. Belloni was far less complimentary about the countless Bond shortlists circulating online, describing them as “bogus” and adding: “Anyone who says they know who Bond is now … doesn’t.”
A test deal is a binding agreement signed by an actor before a screen test that establishes salary, exclusivity and the length of the franchise commitment in advance. If the studio likes what it sees during the test, the casting can then be announced almost immediately without another lengthy round of negotiations. Studios have used this mechanism for major franchise roles for decades, partly because it prevents an actor from gaining substantially more leverage after officially winning the part. The reported deals therefore do not necessarily mean the next Bond has already been chosen, but they do suggest that the search is finally moving beyond pure speculation and into a formal stage. That also aligns with producer Amy Pascal’s recent comment that an announcement by the end of the year was “a good bet.”
If the screen tests do take place later this fall and an agreement follows soon afterward, the reveal of the next James Bond may not be far behind. Pascal has previously said the next iteration “has got to be something really different,” and several of the more credible names linked with the part are younger than actors commonly discussed in previous Bond searches. Some reports suggest the studio specifically wants someone capable of carrying the franchise across multiple films and many years.
That may ultimately be the more important story, as the eventual casting choice will likely reflect the broader creative reset being shaped by Villeneuve and Knight. Villeneuve has described Bond as “sacred territory,” while Knight has suggested that he wants to pursue a more grounded and modern interpretation of the character. The next 007 movie still has no public release date, and with Villeneuve expected to finish Dune: Part Three first, 2028 currently appears to be the earliest realistic target for James Bond’s return to theaters.
Source: MovieWeb
