Credit: IO Interactive under license from Amazon MGM Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon ProductionsThe upcoming James Bond reboot has shared its essentials for the next actor to play 007 in film, Deadline has reported.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) with a script by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), Bond 26 will reset the series’ continuity once again following Daniel Craig’s five-film era, which started with 2006’s Casino Royale and ended with 2021’s No Time to Die.
But the search for the next 007 won’t begin until Villeneuve has finished production on Dune: Part Three next year. According to Deadline, the new team behind the upcoming Bond reboot is looking for a “fresh face” to don the iconic tux and pick up the Walther PPK.
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Requirements for the Next Bond
Deadline has also learned that the actor must be British. These requirements swiftly rule out most, if not all of the unofficial frontrunners who’ve been floated online for quite some time, which include Timothée Chalamet, Glen Powell, Austin Butler, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
And before you get excited that it could be Tom Holland — who does hail from U.K. shores — the article states that Bond 26 is also looking to cast “an unknown” into the role, and Holland, who’s best known for playing Spider-Man in the MCU, is definitely a household name. This also rules out British actors Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, and Theo James.
A New 007 Has Already Been Cast
Meanwhile, another young actor — who’s relatively unknown — has been cast as Bond.
Irish actor Patrick Gibson, who plays a younger version of the fictional Miami serial killer Dexter Morgan in the Paramount+ prequel series Original Sin, steps into the role in the upcoming third-person action-adventure video game “007 First Light” from IO Interactive.
Watch the official trailer below:
“007 First Light” also stars Priyanga Burford as M, Alastair Mackenzie as Q, Kiera Lester as Miss Moneypenny, Lennie James as John Greenway, Noémie Nakai as Miss Roth, and, as revealed in the above trailer, Gemma Chan as Selina Tan.
Who Will Play James Bond in the Next Film?
We’re none the wiser as to who will be following in the footsteps of Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig on the big screen. But one thing’s for sure — James Bond will be an unknown Brit in their late 20s or early 30s. And the Internet will also be going back to the drawing board with fan-castings.
For now, Patrick Gibson, 30, portrays the youngest 007 (confirmed to be 26 in the game) across James Bond media. In film, George Lazenby currently holds the title of the youngest actor, having only been 29 when he filmed On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).
But according to the report from Deadline, it sounds like Bond 26 is looking to go even younger with its version of the globe-trotting MI6 superspy.
There’s no release date for the new James Bond film, but you can grab the game when it hits all major consoles in March, next year.
Who do you think should play the new 007? Let us know your thoughts!