James Bond<\/a> film, being directed by Denis Villeneuve. It represents Amazon MGM Studio\u2019s major reboot of the spy franchise after the company acquired creative control from Eon. Partridge, like any actor with his eyes on arguably cinema\u2019s most coveted role, was understandably eager to show off his finest 007 moves.<\/p>\n\n\tSix months on and, whatever Partridge \u2014 also known for \u201cEnola Holmes,\u201d \u201cDisclaimer,\u201d Netflix\u2019s upcoming \u201cPride & Prejudice\u201d and a recent relationship with Olivia Rodrigo \u2014 did at the bar in front of Knight, rumors would suggest it paid off. Speculation has now reached Variety that he\u2019s in contention for the job (and beyond simply being put on a bookmaker\u2019s list).<\/p>\n
\n\tOf course, as with almost anything regarding Hollywood\u2019s most famous superspy that\u2019s not come directly out of the mouths of its key creative team, it\u2019s important to note that this is no more than speculation. Attempts to confirm with Partridge\u2019s reps or Amazon MGM Studios have been as predictably futile as any Bond villain\u2019s wildly-complicated plans for global domination.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Partridge rumor does, however, align with widespread chatter that the incoming 007 will be much younger than previous Bonds. Following a (speculative, of course) report in Deadline earlier this year, the word \u201cfresh-faced\u201d has done the rounds, and many in the industry Variety has spoken to seem to be sure the age is being dialed down a few notches.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut just how fresh-faced are they going for? At 23, Partridge\u2019s face is considerably fresher than that of every other name on the ever-evolving conveyor belt of likely candidates (a list currently led by Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harris Dickinson). As many might note, he\u2019s barely old enough to have developed a fussy preference over how his cocktails are mixed, let alone legally drink one.<\/p>\n
\n\tElordi, thought to have been a keen target for Amazon for some time, would already have been the youngest Bond at 28 years old. By contrast, Sean Connery was 32 when he started his tenure, Daniel Craig was 38, Pierce Brosnan was 42 and Roger Moore was 45 (and 57 when he signed off). Half a decade younger than Elordi, Partridge would throw the average down considerably more.<\/p>\n
\n\tTurner \u2014 who recently shot to the bookies\u2019 favorites following, yes, rumors \u2014 is 36, a good 13 years older. If the Bond team are considering someone as young as Partridge, is anyone in their mid-to-late 30s, or even in their 30s, off the menu? As one producer tells Variety: \u201cWriting a film to be led by a 23-year-old is completely different to writing one for a 36-year-old \u2014 they\u2019re just totally different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBut an actor of Partridge\u2019s age would offer producers some solid franchise longevity. Were he to do five to six Bond films over the next 15 or so years, he\u2019d still be under 40 by the time he handed in his Walther PPK. With his star power still yet to hit A-list levels, he\u2019d also be considerably less expensive than an Elordi or Taylor-Johnson. <\/p>\n
\n\tIf 23 is the rough age being considered, of known names, away from Partridge there\u2019s a relatively small pool of British talent available (and reports earlier this year suggested Bond would be British). \u201cHeartstopper\u201d breakouts Kit Conner (22) and Joe Locke (23) would fit, as would Noah Jupe (21), riding a current wave thanks to the Oscar-winning \u201cHamnet\u201d and the buzzy \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d West End stage production. But, unless they\u2019re going for someone more unknown (a distinct possibility), that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n
\n\tAgain, this is mostly informed conjecture and nothing more than that. Never has there been a cinematic topic so fueled by speculation than who will next step into Craig\u2019s blood-splattered 007 brogues (just ask Idris Elba, who has been batting off rumors for what feels like a lifetime).<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd who started this particular bit of speculation? Could it have been someone in Partridge\u2019s team or family? Riz Ahmed\u2019s new semi-autobiographical satirical series \u201cBait\u201d for Amazon sees him play a struggling actor who seeks to boost his own Bond chances by ensuring he\u2019s snapped by paparazzi leaving a (lousy) audition. Anything is possible.<\/p>\n
\n\tJust to underline the how little we truly know about this, another name recently resurfaced in conversations as someone being \u201cconsidered.\u201d This time, it was 40-year-old James Norton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMaybe I could be at the bar, swilling a martini, saying nothing.\u201d So Louis Partridge told Variety just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,24973,20004,409,111,139,69,104670],"class_list":{"0":"post-373373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-james-bond","10":"tag-louis-partridge","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-steven-knight"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}