The search for the next James Bond has narrowed to a final group of actors, according to reports.
Screen tests for the role of British agent 007 are scheduled to take place this weekend, some of them beginning as early as Friday (Oct 23) , according to the Hollywood Reporter.
They are slated to continue into next week, with at least four test offers handed out so far. Three of those final actors reportedly include Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O’Connor.
Sources said the actors say will participate in an audition process made up of three components – stunts, camera presence and dialogue.
Lowden is best known for his Emmy-nominated turn as the spy River Cartwright on Apple TV’s Slow Horses and his performance in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
Turner, who recently married Dua Lipa, has won praise for his starring appearances in Apple TV’s WWII miniseries Masters Of The Air and the romantic comedy One Night Only.
And O’Connor is an Emmy-winning British actor who shot to fame after playing Prince Charles in The Crown, with additional appearances in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers and Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi epic Disclosure Day.
O’Connor also recently wrapped Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man, where he shared the screen with the previous 007, Daniel Craig.
Other names previously floated for the role include British actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson and James Norton as well as Irish actor Paul Mescal.
Despite hitting the final stretch of the casting process, it is unclear when a final decision will be made.
According to Deadline, those involved believe a new Bond will likely be selected by the end of the year.
It will mark the end of a lengthy search, which kicked off last spring, shortly after Amazon MGM studios bought out the creative rights to the James Bond franchise in February 2025. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
