I’m so excited for the new James Bond. Here’s who I want to see get the part

By Dan Girolamo Published October 3, 2025

Where in the world is the next James Bond? Apologies to Batman fans (I love Batman), but the next actor to play 007 is currently the biggest casting decision in Hollywood. Whoever wins the coveted role skyrockets to the A-list.

Here’s what we know so far about Bond 26.Amazon MGM Studios now has full creative control over 007. Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve will direct, while Amy Pascal and David Heyman will produce. We also know that Daniel Craig has sipped his last martini as Bond.

The franchise needs someone to play the intelligence officer with a license to kill. Who should that be? As a massive James Bond fan, I have a few suggestions. Before getting into my preferences, there are some reports as to what Villeneuve and Amazon want.

If Villeneuve gets his way, he wants to cast an unknown. Last month, Deadline revealed Villeneuve’s preferences for 007. “James Bond will be male, as written by creator Ian Fleming, and importantly, will be an actor who hails from the British Isles,” Deadline’s article reads.

If true, that rules out any American who might have been under consideration. Austin Butler has the looks to be Bond, but the Elvis actor previously said it’s “sacrilegious” for an American to depict the secret agent. The same can be said for Glen Powell, who also took his name out of the running. Sorry, Timothée Chalamet, you can’t be Villeneuve’s Bond.

If Villeneuve wants a Brit, that rules out Jacob Elordi, one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars, who hails from Australia. George Lazenby is an Australian who once played Bond, so there is precedent for an actor from the “Land Down Under” portraying the character.

Villeneuve reportedly has some more specifications. The Dune director allegedly wants a “fresh face” to play the iconic character. According to Deadline, “Those in the know tell us the ideal approach is to cast an unknown, possibly in his late 20s or early 30s.”

Let’s break that into two sections. How unknown is Villeneuve willing to go? Daniel Craig was relatively unknown to mainstream audiences at the time of his casting. Craig made his name on stage and in independent films before starring in Casino Royale.

Tom Holland, Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Regé-Jean Page, Joe Alwyn, and Dev Patel are well-known actors and therefore eliminated from contention.

Add in the age specifications, and that also eliminates Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, and Theo James. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who has been the favorite on many odds lists for years, is 35 with recognition. Sorry, Kraven, but you can’t play Bond now either.

Villeneuve might have his preference, but Amazon will have the final say with casting decisions. After paying the Broccolis nearly $1 billion for creative control, you better believe they are going to be hands-on during the Bond casting process.

This is Amazon’s first movie in charge of Bond. The pressure is on, and they must deliver a hit. Therefore, they reportedly want a young star to be the next 007. In July, Variety reported that Elordi, Holland, and Dickinson were at the top of Amazon’s wishlist for Bond.

Elordi, 28, first became popular with teens in The Kissing Booth franchise. The Australian then parlayed that success into Euphoria, one of HBO’s biggest shows. Instead of jumping into the superhero universe, Elordi has opted for dramatic roles in movies by auteurs and Oscar winners. Elordi is set to play the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights.

If Amazon wants popularity, it’s hard to beat Holland’s star power. The 29-year-old is beloved for playing Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In July 2026, Holland will appear in two movies within the span of 14 days: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Dickinson is a rising star thanks to recent turns in The Iron Claw and Babygirl. Like Elordi, Dickinson has stayed out of the superhero spandex for now. Instead, Dickinson won the coveted role of John Lennon in Sam Mendes’ four-part biopic of the Beatles.

From Amazon’s perspective, all three names for Bond make sense. Amazon has to start its Bond era off on the right foot. Casting an unknown is risky because of a lack of a relationship with the star. Cast Elordi or Holland as Bond, and this already-popular movie character gets injected with rocket fuel. Even Dickinson will be a bigger star before Bond 26 hits theaters, thanks to the Beatles’ movies. As for who gets the job, I have a few ideas.

I want an “actor” to play James Bond. What do I mean by that? I liken it to how the Broccolis picked Craig to be 007. Craig could bring a new emotionality to Bond because of his background as a classically trained performer. The action hero would come later, but I’d rather have it that way. I’d rather mold a thespian into an action star than the other way around.

Harry Lawtey is one of the names I would be circling if I were Amazon. Lawtey is best known for playing Robert Spearing in Industry. In a show full of backstabbing monsters, Robert might be the only character with a moral compass. Lawtey has showcased that he’s comfortable playing the cocky lothario just as much as the wounded soul.

Joker: Folie à Deux was a disaster, but Lawtey won me over as the confident and cunning Harvey Dent. Lawtey looks good in a suit. It’s undeniable. It sounds silly, but to play Bond, appearances matter.

At 28, Amazon is catching Lawtey at the right time. Lawtey is known in smaller circles, but he’s still a role or two away from real stardom. Lawtey is somewhere in between an unknown performer and an established star. It’s a compromise between Villeneuve and Amazon.

Aaron Pierre was high on my list after Rebel Ridge. If Amazon wants a stoic Bond with size and strength, look no further than Pierre. To his credit, Pierre has parlayed his Rebel Ridge success into several high-profile roles. Pierre will appear in the fourth season of The Morning Show. Next year, Pierre will star alongside Kyle Chandler in DC’s Lanterns. In 2027, Pierre snagged a role in Star Wars: Starfighter.

If audiences don’t know who Pierre is now, they will by 2027. He’s 31 right now, so by the time Bond 26 hits theaters, he’ll likely be 34. That’s not a dealbreaker, but it is something to monitor. Still, Pierre has the chops and gravitas to lead an action franchise.

Slow Horses’ Jack Lowden tops my list of prospects in their mid-30s if Amazon is considering an older Bond.After F1, Damson Idris finds himself on that same list. If the studio wants a younger actor, House of Guinness’ Louis Partridge, 22, looks the part. My dark horse pick is House of the Dragon’s Fabien Frankel, who currently plays a Philadelphia cop on Task.

I can’t stress this enough. Amazon has to get this right. They paired established producers in Pascal and Heyman with an esteemed filmmaker like Villeneuve to produce a hit. There are no do-overs if Bond 26 fails.

I believe Amazon will push hard for Elordi, Holland, and Dickinson to play Bond before ultimately settling on an actor below that tier of star power. Whoever gets the role, know this: Their life is about to change.