EXCLUSIVE: Denis Villeneuve will embark on the search for an actor to play the world’s most famous fictional spy, James Bond, next year when he completes production on Dune: Part Three. Those familiar with the matter tell us that the director and his collaborators are seeking a “fresh face” to take on the 007 mantle in Bond 26.
Also, Bond … James Bond will be male, as written by creator Ian Fleming, and importantly, will be an actor who hails from the British isles.
Yes, they want a Brit to play Bond.
James Bond creator and author Ian Fleming
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That rules out fanciful speculation that the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Glen Powell, Austin Butler, Jacob Elordi and others who don’t hail from UK shores are in the running.
Frankly, 99.9% of the names we’ve heard speculated online so far won’t make the cut.
Those in the know tell us the ideal approach is to cast “an unknown,” possibly in his late 20s or early 30s, to play what Fleming called “a blunt instrument” — the lethal but “extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened.”
If that criteria is stuck to, that means favourites such as Tom Hardy, aged 47, Idris Elba at 53 and Henry Cavill, aged 42, presumably don’t match what Villeneuve, producers David Heyman and Amy Pascal, and execs at Amazon MGM Studios are leaning towards.
Tom Hardy
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Also, consider that by the time Bond 26 begins shooting in 2027, both Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jack Lowden will be 37 years of age. Will they be too old for Villeneuve?
How rugged and imposing will this Bond be? Fleming describes Bond as being over 6 foot tall, even taller in his best Jermyn Street brogues. Daniel Craig is shorter than that.
But have a think about Steven Knight’s writing credits, a key source suggests, referring to the screenwriter picked to write the script for the Amazon MGM Studios production.
Knight’s work includes SAS Rogue Heroes, Peaky Blinders and Eastern Promises, all of them featuring kick-ass, bone-crunching scenes. “Whoever it is, has to look like he could kill you with his bare hands in a trice. From the moment you see him, that has to be readily apparent,” a person close to discussions tells us.
Online speculators and betting companies throw out names without thinking who Bond is. Knight will be going back to Fleming’s earliest novels — Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), Moonraker (1955), Diamonds Are Forever (1956), From Russia, with Love (1957), Doctor No (1958) and Goldfinger (1959) — to help remind us who Fleming’s protagonist is. Might the new Bond be more in the mould of a younger Sean Connery who originated 007 in 1962’s Dr. No?
(L-R) Producer Cubby Broccoli, Ian Fleming, Sean Connery and producer Harry Saltzman at the Eon production offices before ‘Dr. No’ began filming
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There’s a sense from the many conversations I’ve had that Knight’s going back to Bond’s beginnings as a Royal Navy Commander before being recruited by MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence agency, to perhaps chart how Bond attained 007 status. I want to stress that this is what I’m hearing but to caution that none of this is confirmed or fully formed because the script is still being written and the direction of travel is still up for grabs.
Could Bond be played by a non Caucasian, I asked sources? He could, came the reply. As always, well, nearly always, it’ll come down to this: Are they right for Bond? Are they right for the story that Villeneuve and screenwriter Knight will be telling?
While we’re here, it’s worth pointing out the obvious: Bond 26 will not take up where No Time to Die, the final iteration in the franchise under Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, left us; with Bond dead. “It’s a new Bond, a new start, a fresh everything,” is how it was put to me by a key source who adds that it’s unlikely many associated with the past Bond regime will be involved with Bond 26. That said, I suspect a few old Bond hands might well be consulted on the quiet in the snug of a private club in Pall Mall, London.
Daniel Craig in 2020’s ‘No Time to Die’
Nicola Dove / MGM / courtesy Everett Collection
An unprecedented number of applicants have already sent in their pitch to play James Bond to the production. “Every name you’ve heard of, and many you’ve never heard of,” a well-placed mole revealed. “We’ve been flooded. But understand that the casting process has not begun and it won’t until Denis finishes the Dune movie,” they continued.
It pays to remember that Craig, who, although famous to those of us who followed his career on stage and in independent and Hollywood movies, was not a household name when he was picked to play Fleming’s approved British government assassin. I know that Broccoli knew of Craig’s theater history but it wasn’t until she saw Matthew Vaughn’s Layer Cake that she became convinced he should be cast for Casino Royale.
British actors in their mid 20s to early 30s, with stellar acting chops, who fit the Bond mould, are going to be under an intense spotlight for the next 12 months. Bond … James Bond is somewhere out there.
Our sources indicate that the film will be released in 2028 with filming due to take place in 2027. There’s a lot of talk about the movie premiering in the November slot favored by past Bond movies.
By the way, just because Bond will be British, it doesn’t mean that other roles, such as the Bond foe and the actress leads, can’t be performed by non-Brits, as has been the case for eons.