Credit: MGM/EON ProductionsAmazon MGM Studios’ untitled James Bond film reboot is officially in early development, but a new actor has already been cast as the next 007.
The upcoming film reboot, helmed by director Denis Villeneuve (Dune), written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), and produced by David Heyman (the Harry Potter films) and Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Homecoming), has no release date yet, nor are there any plot details available.
Who’s the Next James Bond?
As for who will play Bond, that also remains to be seen. But the studio has confirmed that the hunt for the new 007 has begun, with casting director Nina Gold reportedly leading the search.
Many Hollywood actors’ names have done the rounds, particularly over the past year. However, according to a report from Deadline last year, the studio is looking for an “an unknown” actor” who is “possibly in his late 20s or early 30s.” That instantly rules out all those big names.
During a recent appearance on Variety‘s Strictly Business podcast, Amazon MGM Studios chief Mike Hopkins said that the project is still in its early stages and that the team is trying to figure out how to make the franchise “relevant” for a modern audience “for a long period of time.”
So, the studio is committing to a new Bond for the long term. Of course, this is nothing new for the franchise, as Daniel Craig’s tenure lasted 15 years, beginning with 2006’s Casino Royale and ending with 2021’s No Time to Die. But it could explain why a younger Bond is being sought out.
Related: James Bond Undergoes Historic Changes After 64 Years Ahead of Amazon Reboot
A New 007 Actor Has Already Been Cast
Now, a new “young Bond” has officially been cast; not in Amazon MGM’s upcoming film, but in an official audio drama series that will adapt Charlie Higson’s first Young Bond novel SilverFin.
Earlier this year, per Radio Times, Big Finish Productions announced that SilverFin would be developed into a radio series. Now, according to Collider, Isaac Rouse has been cast as the young Bond.
Rouse, who’s best known for his role as Ollie Chadwyck-Healey in The Crown Season 6, is 24 years old, which places him among the youngest actors ever cast to play James Bond in an official production. George Lazenby remains the youngest actor to have portrayed the character on film, having been 29 when he starred in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).
The book, published in 2005, was followed by a number of sequels from Higson, including Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold, and By Royal Command. The radio series will adapt SilverFin across 16 half-hour episodes, split into two box sets for roughly eight hours of drama.
Young Bond: SilverFin follows Bond during his teenage years, before he becomes 007. Per YoungBond.com, here’s the official synopsis for the novel:
“There’s something in the water at Loch Silverfin. Something deadly. Something that must be kept secret… It’s James Bond’s first day at Eton, and he’s already met his first enemy. This is the start of an adventure that will take him from the school playing fields to the remote shores of Loch Silverfin and a terrifying discovery that threatens to unleash a new breed of warfare.”
If the radio drama proves successful, we could get future adaptations of the other novels in Higson’s series, meaning we probably already have a young Bond who’s here for the long haul.
There Are Also Plans to Develop 007 First Light Into a Series
Similarly, there may also be plans to further develop the newly released video game 007 First Light, which stars Irish actor Patrick Gibson as a 26-year-old Bond in MI6 training.
The game has been so successful, opening to positive reviews selling nearly 3 million copies in its first two weeks, that there have already been official talks of a sequel.
Last year, IO Interactive boss Hakan Abrak told IGN that there were hopes for the game to launch a “big trilogy,” with a James Bond that can be “built from the ground up for gamers,” one they can “call their own and grow with” throughout the course of more entries within the series.
He also said that the new 007 game series could grow alongside the next era of films from Amazon MGM Studios: “I just hope we’ll do a thing that will define James Bond in gaming for years to come,” adding, “And that is not only one game, but that we create a universe for gamers to own for many years to come that we can grow with that next to the Bond on the movies.”
Between 007 First Light and SilverFin‘s young Bonds, and taking into account those reports of a young actor being cast in the upcoming film, it’s fair to say that Amazon MGM Studios is looking for a fresh face to lead a new era of Bond on the big screen too.
The first Young Bond: SilverFin episodes arrive in October 2026.
Charlie Higson also has a new novel releasing: King Zero, an adult 007 story set within the same continuity as his Young Bond series, which hits shelves on September 24.
Have you read SilverFin? Do you think the future of the 007 franchise involves a young James Bond across media? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
