Everything We Know About The Next James Bond Movie
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Bond 26 is in the works
The popular James Bond film series is undergoing a major shift for the next installment, as Daniel Craig's five-movie run ended with 2021's No Time To Die. That means someone else, for the first time since 2006's Casino Royale, is stepping up to play James Bond. The producers have also talked about a "reinvention" of the character for the inevitable next movie, which will be the 26th since the series first appeared on the scene back in 1962 with Dr. No.
There is a lot of hype around the next James Bond movie, and there is still plenty of information we don't know, like who will play James Bond next (it could be Aaron Taylor-Johnson!).
At the same time, people involved with the series have shared some morsels of insight into what to expect, and some actors and directors have responded to rumors they might be involved. So we're rounding up everything we know so far about Bond 26.
We will continue to update this gallery as more information comes to light, and that's sure to happen, as rumors will only heat up about the cast and director for Bond 26 in the time to come.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson?
According to The Sun, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 33, has been offered the role of James Bond in the next film. The site's sources said Taylor-Johnson could make a decision as soon as this week.
"As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron is going to sign his contract in the coming days and they can start preparing for the big announcement," a source told the publication.
Johnson, an English man, has appeared in films like Kick-Ass, Bullet Train, and Nocturnal Animals. He plays the lead in the upcoming film Kraven the Hunter.
Who Will Play Bond Next?
This is one of the biggest questions, and we still don't know. The producers are said to be looking to cast a "thirty-something"British man of any ethnicity or race for the role.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 33, was said to have already met with producer Barbara Broccoli about potentially starring as Bond in the next film. Exactly how the meeting went is unknown, but it's a safe bet to assume the casting department is meeting with a great many actors about the role. As mentioned in the previous slide, he is now believed by some to be the frontrunner for the part.
Actors who have already said no to the role include Idris Elba and Taron Egerton. Elba, a fan-favorite for the part, already said, "I'm not going to be that guy." This comes despite the fact that Broccoli and franchise producer Michael. G. Wilson are big fans of Elba. Egerton, meanwhile--who plays a suave action hero in the Kingsman series--has said he's not the right person for the part. He added that the demands to be a super-fit dude do not align with his ambitions as an actor.
Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy's name has also been floated as a possibility to play Bond. Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond in multiple movies in the late '90s and early 2000s, has said Murphy would make a "magnificent" James Bond. Murphy, however, said he has not heard anything about playing Bond.
If it's true that the producers want to cast a "thirty-something," then Murphy, now 47, might have aged out. Nothing is certain in Hollywood, though, and after all, Roger Moore was 45 when his first James Bond film premiered.
The Villain?
Every James Bond movie has at least one main villain. Rami Malek played Safin in No Time To Die, Javier Bardem turned in a memorable performance as Silva in Skyfall, and Christoph Waltz brought Blofeld to life in Spectre. Who might play the next great Bond villain is anyone's guess. Paul Giamatti recently talked about wanting to play a Bond villain, and that would certainly be fun to see. David Dastmalchian has also said he'd like to take a crack at it. Here's to hoping the next James Bond villain is yet another memorable one.
In It For The Long Haul
In 2022, Broccoli said the next James Bond actor would not be named for a "couple years." She also discussed why potential actors might be scared off from playing the part–and that's because of the extensive time requirement put upon the person who plays Bond.
"When we cast Bond, it's a 10-, 12-year commitment. So he's probably thinking, 'Do I really want that thing?' Not everybody wants to do that. It was hard enough getting [Daniel Craig to do it].
"It's a big commitment. It's not just showing up for a couple of months of filming."
How About A Young Actor?
Could the producers go with someone quite young? Casting director Debbie McWilliams told Radio Times that this is unlikely. She said the team considered that with 2006's Casino Royale, but changed course eventually. "We did look at a lot of younger actors. and I just don't think they had the gravitas, they didn't have the experience, they didn't have the mental capacity to take it on, because it's not just the part they're taking on, it's a massive responsibility."
This news is probably upsetting to director Zack Snyder, who recently told The Atlantic that he would love to see a 007 movie featuring a twenty-something Bond. "It'd be cool to see, like, 20-year-old James Bond," Snyder said. "The humble roots that he comes from. Whatever trauma of youth that makes you be able to be James Bond. There has to be something there."
Tom Holland's Rejected James Bond Pitch
Spider-Man actor Tom Holland pitched an idea to Sony Pictures about a young James Bond, but the studio didn't embrace the idea–in part, Holland believes–because it's not revealed until the end of the film that it's a James Bond movie.
"He was supposed to just be a kid who was graduating into the SAS and goes on a mission, which is obviously exciting and adventurous. At the end of the film, he would be recruited into MI:6 and given the status of double-0 and the title of James Bond," he said. I thought it was really cool, but no one else, I guess, thought it was cool."
Holland previously said his pitch for a James Bond origin story made its way to the producers of the Bond series, but it didn't go further. "I don't think the Bond estate were particularly interested," he said.
Two James Bonds?!
There are plenty of fan-fueled rumors on the internet about who could play James Bond next, and it's exciting to think about the range of possibilities. Some names that have floated around also include Tom Hiddleston and Tom Hardy, as well as Gladiator 2 star Paul Mescal. The tabloid The Sun reported in December 2023 that Mescal was being eyed for the part. Not only that, but the report said the film could have a unique twist and feature not one but two James Bonds–one younger and one older.
James Bond Probably Won't Be A Woman
The next James Bond actor will probably not be a woman. Broccoli has already said she wants to cast a man. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "I think it will be a man because I don't think a woman should play James Bond."
She added: "I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men's roles. I don't think there are enough great roles for women, and it's very important to me that we make movies for women about women. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race]."
Craig agreed that a woman should probably not play James Bond. Instead, "there should simply be better parts for women and actors of color," he said. "Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?"
Who Will Direct?
Cary Joji Fukunaga, who previously helmed No Time to Die and has faced multiple allegations of workplace misconduct, directed the newest James Bond movie after Danny Boyle dropped out over reported creative differences. But who will make the next one? Some people are hopeful that Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan would come in to make Bond 26. But don't get your hopes up just yet. In late 2023, Nolan said there is "no truth" to the rumor that he's going to direct the next film. Though he is a self-admitted big fan of the James Bond series, he has also spoken about the "constraints" of working within the confines of an established universe like the James Bond series.
"When you take on a character like that or work like that, you're working within a particular set of constraints, and so you have to have the right attitude towards that--it has to be the right moment in your creative life where you can express what you want to express," he said.
Hearts and minds change all the time. Nolan saying something one day isn't a hard and fast commitment to anything, so people hoping to see Nolan make a James Bond movie someday might have some glimmer of hope, however distant it might be. For what it's worth, it was recently reported that Nolan had begun writing his next movie.
After major success with the Dune franchise, some fans are also wondering if Denis Villeneuve might get the call to direct Bond 26. This doesn't seem likely either, though. He told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year that he probably won't "approach someone else's universe again" after the difficulty of making Blade Runner 2049. "I still wake up sometimes at night, saying, 'Why did I do that?' I'd declined a few other projects of that scale, but at the time, I said to myself, 'It's a crazy project, but it's worth the risk of losing everything.'" Would Villeneuve take that risk again for a James Bond film? Don't count on it.
A Reinvention
Broccoli said in a previous interview that the next James Bond movie will be a "reinvention" of the character, and it could take some time to find the right person. "It's about a reinvention, and, 'Where are we taking it? What do we want to do with the character?'" she said. "And then, once we figure that out, who's the right person for that particular reinvention?"
Recent James Bond films starring Daniel Craig have shown more of Bond's emotions, and there will be more changes coming in the next films. Broccoli said the fictional character, known for his womanizing in earlier entries, is "evolving just as men are evolving."
Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was hired to work on No Time To Die's script to help "sharpen" the dialogue, a report said. She has also discussed how she wants to see the James Bond series move with the times, though there is no indication as of yet that she could be involved with Bond 26.
"There's been a lot of talk about whether or not [the Bond franchise] is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women," Waller-Bridge said. "I think that's bollocks. I think he's absolutely relevant now. It has just got to grow. It has just got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly. He doesn't have to. He needs to be true to this character."
Who Will Write Bond 26?
Recent James Bond films have been written by committees of writers, and two people who regularly contribute to the writing and story are Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Broccoli said on the Empire podcast in 2022 that the idea is to "probably" kick off the writing process by bringing the pair back once again. The writing process often involves revisions, rewrites, sharpening, and other editing, so Purvis and Wade might end up being just part of a wider writing team for Bond 26 when all is said and done. Together, Purvis and Wade have co-written seven James Bond films, including The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time To Die.
Release Date
Given that Bond 26 remains officially unannounced, and there is similarly no word on a lead actor or director, it's safe to assume it remains early days for Bond 26. As such, no one should expect the film to be released anytime soon. From the franchise's debut in 1962 until No Time To Die in 2021, a new installment in the series had been released no more than four years apart. That changed with No Time To Die due to the pandemic and Sony's decision to delay the film again and again.
The six-year gap between Spectre (2015) and No Time To Die (2021) is the biggest ever in the history of the James Bond series dating back to its origins in the early '60s. It's coming up on three years since the release of No Time To Die, but with the requirement of finding a new actor and whatever role the "reinvention" of the character might entail from a story perspective, it's safe to assume James Bond fans might have another lengthy wait on their hands for the next movie.