New James Bond set to be named soon: Know more about the actors who are reportedly the final contenders for 007

The next James Bond is set to be announced, with final screen tests scheduled as early as this week, several outlets including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline reported. With the 65th anniversary of ‘Dr. No’, the film debut of James Bond coming up next year, the announcement of a new James Bond is set to mark the beginning of a new era for spy films.

Amazon MGM Studios is producing the next Bond film, with Denis Villeneuve set to direct after his ‘Dune’ trilogy ends this year with the third part coming out in December 2026. The studio began their search for the next James Bond when they brought on casting director, Nina Gold in May 2026. She has previously casted for ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Crown’ and some projects in the ‘Star Wars’ universe among several others.

According to Deadline, the first round of auditions were supposed to take place in August, since then the studio, along with producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman and director Villeneuve have cut the list to its final contenders. The screen tests were originally planned for earlier in October but were pushed due to scheduling conflicts with the finalists, the outlet reported.


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Who has been offered to test?

The outlets have reported, citing sources, that at least three actors have been picked to test for the superspy’s role, while another remains unnamed.

• Jack Lowden

Jack Lowden is a Scottish actor, who has played several successful roles on both the stage and the screen. Lowden graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2011. For his theatre roles he has won several prestigious awards, including the Ian Charleson Award and the Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ‘Ghosts’.

Lowden who is married to four-time Oscar nominee, Saoirse Ronan, has himself received two BAFTA Awards for his roles in ‘Calibre’ and ‘Benediction’. He has been nominated once for the Golden Globe and twice for a Primetime Emmy. He starred alongside his wife in the critically acclaimed 2018 film ‘Mary Queen of Scots’, which was how they first met.

Lowden is no stranger to the spy genre and has been portraying MI5 agent River Cartwright in the acclaimed Apple TV series ‘Slow Horses’ for six seasons. He has also starred in Amazon’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ and is set to play Fitzwilliam Darcy in Netflix’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ adaptation coming out in December 2026. Lowden also had a role in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 war film ‘Dunkirk’.

• Josh O’Connor

Josh O’Connor is a British actor, who gained fame for portraying Prince Charles of Wales in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’. He went on to win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role. He trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

The actor has recently led several films including the latest from the ‘Knives Out’ series and even a Steven Spielberg film with ‘Disclosure Day’ earlier in 2026. He has appeared in several critically acclaimed films including ‘Emma’ and ‘La Chimera’ in 2023 and the heist drama ‘The Mastermind’. He also starred alongside Zendaya in Luca Guadagnino's ‘Challengers’. He started his acting career with prominent roles in ‘The Durrells’, ‘Les Miserables’ and the acclaimed indie gay romance series ‘God’s Own Country’.

• Callum Turner

Callum Turner is a British actor, who began as a model for Burberry and later moved to film and television. His first role was in ‘Queen and Country’, where he was cast while taking acting classes in 2012. He most recently co-led the romantic comedy ‘One Night Only’ and also starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen in the 2025 film ‘Eternity’.

One of his breakout roles was as Theseus Scamander in the Harry Potter spin-off ‘Fantastic Beasts’. He also starred alongside Josh O’Connor in ‘Emma’. He was earlier nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for the 2019 mystery series ‘The Capture’. Turner has also starred with Jack Lowden in BBC’s ‘War & Peace’.

Earlier in 2026, Turner married pop star Dua Lipa. The two met after discovering they were on the same page of the same book at a mutual friend’s party.

According to The Hollywood Reported, ‘Sinners’ star Jack O’Connel and ‘Euphoria’ star Jacob Elordi are not in the running after several reports said so.