{"id":638877,"date":"2026-10-23T08:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/638877\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T08:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:10:08","slug":"james-bond-finalists-set-to-screen-test-for-role-this-week-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/638877\/","title":{"rendered":"James Bond finalists set to screen-test for role this week \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The search for the next James Bond<\/a> may finally be nearing its end: according to reports, a very select group of actors will screen-test to become the next 007 this weekend.<\/p>\n

According to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, citing several sources, a group of actors, reportedly including Callum Turner and Slow Horses\u2019 Jack Lowden, will appear in front of cameras as the secret agent this weekend in London.<\/p>\n

The tests supposedly include three elements: stunts, camera presence and dialogue. Reports vary that between three and five actors are finalists for the role, which was vacated by Daniel Craig after 2021\u2019s No Time to Die. <\/p>\n

Despite speculation to the contrary, Sinners\u2019 Jack O\u2019Connell and Wuthering Heights star Jacob Elordi are not testing, according to the Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

Dune film-maker Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the next instalment of the Bond franchise for Amazon MGM studios, which bought the series rights as part of an $8.45bn (\u20ac7.553bn) deal in 2022. The Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight will pen the script.<\/p>\n

The company, which paid more than $1bn last year to wrest \u201ccreative control\u201d from the Broccoli family, has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, and referred the Hollywood Reporter to its earlier statement: \u201cThe search for the next James Bond is under way. While we don\u2019t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we\u2019re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ActorActor Callum Turner, who is reportedly among a group of actors to screen-test to be the new James Bond, pictured with singer Dua Lipa. Photograph: Getty <\/p>\n

In April of this year, Amazon film executives urged fans to exercise patience in waiting for the casting announcement, citing an abundance of caution in making the closely watched decision. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019re all wondering when we\u2019re going to announce who\u2019s playing James Bond,\u201d said Courtenay Valenti, the company\u2019s head of film. \u201cDon\u2019t get too excited. Please know that we\u2019re taking the time to do this with care and deep respect. It is the dream of a lifetime for all of us to bring audiences this next chapter, and it\u2019s a responsibility we don\u2019t take lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Villeneuve, a \u201cdiehard Bond fan\u201d, has said the opportunity to add to the franchise is what drew him away from the Dune franchise that has consumed the better part of a decade of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Maybe it\u2019s a good idea to go back to this project, not out of nostalgia, not because I miss it, but the opposite \u2013 I\u2019m tired of it,\u2019\u201d he told Empire of Dune: Messiah, which will premiere this December. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make sure that I will be severe with the material. That I will not be complacent,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought, \u2018When it\u2019s done, I need a very powerful rocket to pull me away from Arrakis.\u2019 When I was asked to do the next Bond, I said: \u2018OK, this is what I need.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been more than 20 years since the last full screen test for Bond; future Superman Henry Cavill was reported to be a finalist, but the role eventually went to Craig, who first appeared in 2006\u2019s Casino Royale.<\/p>\n

Speculation over the new Bond has intensified in the months since Villeneuve was revealed as director in 2025. The film is still reportedly positioned for a 2028 release. \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The search for the next James Bond may finally be nearing its end: according to reports, a very…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,24973,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-638877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-james-bond","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638877","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=638877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}