• Amazon MGM Studios confirmed auditions for the next James Bond have officially begun.
• Acclaimed casting director Nina Gold — known for Game of Thrones and The Crown — has been hired to lead the search.
• Denis Villeneuve (Dune) is set to direct, with Steven Knight writing the screenplay.
• Rumored candidates include Callum Turner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Henry Cavill, and others.
• Amazon paid $20 million for full creative control of the franchise from producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in 2025.

The search for the next James Bond is officially on. Amazon MGM Studios confirmed this week that auditions for the role of 007 have begun — and they’ve brought in serious firepower to find their man.

“The search for the next James Bond is underway,” the studio said in a statement. “While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”

It’s a statement that is simultaneously the most Amazon has said publicly about the casting process and almost nothing at all — but after years of radio silence, fans will take it. According to Variety, which first broke the story, the studio has actually been auditioning actors for the part of 007 for several weeks already.

Nina Gold Is the Woman Behind the Search

The name attached to this casting search should give Bond fans real confidence. Amazon MGM has tapped Nina Gold — one of the most respected casting directors in the business — to find their next superspy. Gold’s résumé reads like a greatest-hits list of prestige television and film: Game of Thrones, The Crown, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian, Les Misérables, Conclave, and Hamnet. She was recently nominated for the first-ever Academy Award in Casting for Hamnet. The woman knows how to find a star.

Historically, the Bond casting process is a serious undertaking. Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, and others all landed the role after intensive screen tests — performing scenes from classic Bond films in front of a camera. Even the actors who don’t get the part become part of franchise lore. Footage of Henry Cavill’s Bond screen test has lived on the internet for years, a reminder of just how high-profile — and public — this process can become.

Denis Villeneuve and the Road to Bond 26

The casting news also signals something else: Denis Villeneuve, who was announced as director last June, must be close to wrapping post-production on Dune: Part Three. Reports from last September indicated that the Bond casting process wouldn’t begin until Villeneuve had finished with Dune — so the studio moving forward now suggests that milestone is nearly here.

Villeneuve has made no secret of how much this project means to him. “Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery,” he said when his hiring was announced. “I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.”

Joining him is screenwriter Steven Knight, whose credits include Eastern Promises and Closed Circuit — a pairing that suggests the new Bond will have real cinematic weight behind it.

Who Could Be the Next 007?

The internet has been running its own unofficial casting process for years, and the list of names that have circulated is long: Callum Turner, Henry Cavill, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Norton, Harris Dickinson, Jacob Elordi, and even Tom Holland have all been thrown into the mix at various points. Taylor-Johnson emerged as a reported frontrunner in recent months, though Amazon has never confirmed anything officially. With actual auditions now underway, all of that speculation is about to collide with reality.

There’s also been persistent chatter — and some early reporting — that Amazon is leaning toward casting an unknown. A fresh face, someone the audience has no pre-existing relationship with, a blank slate to build a new Bond around. That would be a bold move, but it’s also very much in the tradition of how the franchise has operated at its best.

A New Era for the Franchise

James Bond first appeared on screen in 1962’s Dr. No, with Sean Connery setting the template for the role. Since then, six actors have officially played 007 in the mainline Eon Productions series — Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, who closed his run with 2021’s No Time to Die.

The franchise’s handover to Amazon MGM came in 2025, after longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson — who had shepherded the series since GoldenEye in 1995 — ceded creative control. Amazon paid $20 million for the privilege, and with it came enormous expectations from a fanbase that has been watching closely for any sign of where the franchise is headed.

“My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli,” Barbara Broccoli said at the time of the transition. “I have had the honor of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.”

The reception to Amazon taking over was cautious — fans worried the studio would immediately pivot to spinoff TV shows and franchise-building at the expense of the films themselves. So far, the moves have been measured: a visionary director, a respected writer, and now one of the best casting directors in the world quietly auditioning actors for the most coveted role in cinema. Whatever comes next, it won’t be for lack of talent in the room.

The post Amazon MGM Has Officially Started Casting the Next James Bond appeared first on Cream.

• Amazon MGM Studios has hired casting director Nina Gold to find the next James Bond, with auditions already underway.
• Gold is best known for casting Game of Thrones and five Star Wars films, including discovering Daisy Ridley as Rey.
• Denis Villeneuve will direct, with a script from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
• Producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman are attached, with Tanya Lapointe serving as executive producer.
• Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson remain among the most-rumored contenders for 007.

The search for the next James Bond is no longer just Hollywood chatter — it’s officially happening. Amazon MGM Studios has hired British casting director Nina Gold to find the actor who will take over from Daniel Craig as Ian Fleming’s super-spy, with Variety first reporting that auditions have already begun in the past few weeks.

“The search for the next James Bond is underway,” the studio said in a statement. “While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”

Short on specifics, maybe — but long on significance. The fact that Nina Gold is running point on this search tells you everything about how seriously Amazon is treating the franchise.

Why Nina Gold Is the Perfect Person for This Job

Gold’s résumé reads like a masterclass in casting prestige television and film at the highest level. She’s best known for building out the sprawling world of Westeros on HBO’s Game of Thrones — one of the biggest, most complex ensemble casts in modern TV history — and she did it without a single notable misfire. She also worked on Netflix’s The Crown, Les Misérables, The Martian, and Conclave.

Then there’s her Star Wars work. Gold cast five films in that franchise, which included one of the more consequential decisions in recent blockbuster history: putting a then-largely-unknown Daisy Ridley in the lead role of Rey in The Force Awakens. It’s a useful reminder, especially for the Bond search, that the right role doesn’t have to go to an established name — sometimes the role creates the star.

In 2025, Gold received an Oscar nomination for her work on Hamnet, in the first year the Academy ever gave out a casting award. She didn’t respond to Variety’s request for comment, but a source with knowledge of the production confirmed her involvement.

For context, it was Debbie McWilliams who served as casting director across earlier Bond eras — finding Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig along the way. Gold is now tasked with finding whoever comes next in that lineage, following Connery, Moore, Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig.

The Creative Team Behind the New Bond Film

The casting news doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Amazon has quietly assembled a remarkable group of filmmakers around this project. Denis Villeneuve — the director behind Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and the Dune films — is attached to direct. Amy Pascal, known for the Spider-Man franchise, and David Heyman of the Harry Potter series are producing. Tanya Lapointe serves as executive producer.

And the script is coming from Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, who also wrote the screenplay for Tom Hardy’s 2013 one-man chamber piece Locke. Knight was asked about the Bond script on the red carpet at the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards and, while he acknowledged he couldn’t say much, he couldn’t quite contain himself either.

“It’s really, really good,” he said. “It’s going incredibly well. We’ve got the best people on it, and I really can’t wait for people to see it.”

That’s not nothing. Knight is not a man given to empty hype.

Who Could Actually Be the Next Bond?

Even before auditions officially kicked off, the rumor mill had been running hot. Names like Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have all surfaced as contenders — and the common thread is youth. Amazon has made clear, per reports, that they’re looking for someone who can carry the franchise for years, which likely rules out some of the longer-rumored names like Henry Cavill and Idris Elba.

Elordi has been building serious dramatic credibility, while Turner recently broke through in Masters of the Air. Taylor-Johnson has long been a fan favorite for the role. But with Gold at the helm, don’t be surprised if the eventual choice comes from somewhere nobody saw coming — that’s kind of her thing.

At CinemaCon last month, Amazon MGM’s head of film Courtenay Valenti offered fans a small but heartfelt update. “We’re taking the time to do this with care and deep respect,” she said. “It is the dream of a lifetime for all of us to bring audiences this next chapter, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. What I can tell you is this: When you pair one of the most beloved franchises in history with a world-class film-making team, including the brilliant director Denis Villeneuve, extraordinary producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, executive producer Tanya Lapointe and screenwriter Steven Knight, you’re setting the stage for something that’s truly worthy of the Bond legacy. That film is coming, and when the time is right, we’ll have much more to share.”

Auditions are underway. The team is in place. And somewhere out there, the next James Bond is already in a room with Nina Gold.

The post James Bond Auditions Are Officially Underway appeared first on Cream.

• Jacob Elordi has reportedly moved into “pole position” to be cast as the next James Bond in Amazon’s reboot
• Denis Villeneuve is set to direct, with Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight penning the script
• The film is targeting a 2028 release, with Amazon seeking a younger Bond than previous frontrunner Callum Turner
• The new 007 First Light video game, which arrives May 27, features a young Bond played by Patrick Gibson

The next James Bond may have just been found — and it’s not who most people had money on. Jacob Elordi has reportedly moved into “pole position” to take over the iconic 007 role in Amazon’s highly anticipated reboot, according to multiple sources, pushing past Callum Turner, who had been leading the bookmakers’ odds for months.

The news marks a significant shift in what has been one of Hollywood’s most-watched casting races. Turner, known for his role in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, had long been considered the frontrunner among fans and oddsmakers alike. But it now appears Amazon has its sights set on Elordi — the 6’5″ Australian actor who broke through with HBO’s Euphoria and turned heads with his magnetic performance in last year’s Saltburn.

The Team Behind the New Bond

If the casting alone wasn’t enough to get fans talking, the creative team assembled around the project certainly is. Denis Villeneuve — the visionary director behind Dune and Blade Runner 2049 — has been tapped to direct, bringing his sweeping, immersive style to the spy franchise. The script comes from Steven Knight, the Peaky Blinders creator who knows a thing or two about writing complicated, dangerous men with style to spare.

The film is expected to land in 2028, giving the studio time to get everything right. Plot details remain tightly under wraps, but the direction is clear: Amazon wants a younger Bond. A fresher start. A 007 built for a new era rather than a continuation of what Daniel Craig left behind with No Time to Die in 2021.

Elordi would be 31 at the time of the film’s projected release — young enough to anchor a long-running franchise, but with the kind of brooding screen presence that makes the role feel earned rather than auditioned for.

Bond Is Already Back — Just Not in Theaters Yet

While fans wait for the movie, 007 is making his return through a different screen first. IO Interactive — the studio behind the acclaimed Hitman series — has spent years developing 007 First Light, a triple-A Bond game that arrives May 27. The game follows a young Bond fresh out of the MI6 academy, with Dexter: Original Sin star Patrick Gibson voicing and portraying the character.

Earlier this week, a key detail emerged: the story will take the average player around 20 hours to complete — substantial enough to satisfy hardcore fans, accessible enough that casual players won’t feel like they’re signing up for a second job. An official gameplay trailer released recently confirmed that players can tackle missions in multiple ways, adding serious replay value to an already anticipated title.

It’s a timely reminder of just how much cultural real estate the Bond franchise still occupies — across film, gaming, and seemingly every casting conversation in Hollywood right now.

For Elordi, landing the role would be a career-defining moment. He’s already shown he can carry the weight of a franchise and command a screen — now the question is whether Amazon makes it official. The shaken-not-stirred crowd is watching closely.

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