Amazon MGM Studios is trying to get serious about James Bond. Last year, Jeff Bezos reportedly laid out $1 billion to secure the 007 IP with no strings attached. Since then, the Amazon team has been slowly trying to put together the first post-Broccoli-family James Bond movie. They have a director attached (Denis Villeneuve), but as far I know, they don’t have a script nor do they have a new James Bond. Well, Deadline has a big update on how the casting situation is going. August will be a big month where they narrow down a 007 shortlist. So far, the shortlist already includes Jacob Elordi and Callum Turner, who we already knew. But this is the first I’m hearing about Harris Dickinson being seriously in the mix?
Fans of the James Bond franchise are getting closer to finding out who will next play the iconic spy for future installments. Sources tell Deadline that producers and director Denis Villeneuve have begun informing talent who have made the next round of auditions, which will occur later this summer. Villeneuve has been calling talent directly and while Deadline has not been able to confirm any names at this time sources say the auditions are set to take place in August. Amazon MGM Studios, who is distributing and producing the pic, had no comment.
As for how many actors will test in August, while one source says they expect producers to cast a wide net, the exact number of actors is unknown with some sources saying between 5-7 while others said in the teens.
General meetings have been going on with talent all the way back to when Amy Pascal and David Heyman were tapped as producers in spring of 2025. Nina Gold, who closed a deal in April to be the casting director on the film, has been meeting with actors for the past several weeks, but sources say those meetings were for lesser known names to see if anyone should be added to the list of prominent actors expected to get a call for the next round.
With those auditions wrapping, insiders say Villeneuve and producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman have started making contact with actors over the past week to inform them about the August auditions. Actors like Harris Dickinson, Callum Turner and Jacob Elordi fit the prototype of who producers are eyeing for this next leg of auditions, but again no names have been confirmed at this time.
Though it still feels like we are a ways away from finding out who will play 007, the timing fits with the studio having their actor by the end of the year so that production can begin some time in 2027.
Since landing full creative control of the franchise this year, Amazon MGM has been thorough in its search for the behind-the-scenes talent that will be overseeing the development of this next pic in the series. Pascal and Heyman were first to be brought on, and after meeting with a number of directors the studio tapped Villeneuve to direct. The same steps were also taken before tapping Steven Knight last summer to pen the script, and, since then, the focus has been on getting the story in the right place before auditioning actors to play the role.
While I have little faith in this given Amazon’s involvement, I will give them credit for really taking their time, developing the script, hiring competent and knowledgeable people and refusing to rush. It looks like some people learned what NOT to do from watching Disney screw up the post-George Lucas Star Wars movies. We’ll see. As for the Bond casting calls… are they retaining anyone from the previous movies? Ralph Fiennes would still be welcome as M, and I loved Ben Whishaw as Q. Are they being replaced too? Hm. I also find Harris Dickinson’s inclusion fascinating. I’m a big fan, and I think he’s an underrated actor. He might be too realistic as a spy though? I’m pretty sure he’s probably what a real field operative would look like – a little bit sleazy/seductive, able to blend in, with a jolie-laide quality. All of which to say, he would be such an interesting choice, but I doubt he’ll be cast.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
