2021’s No Time To Die was Daniel Craig’s final James Bond movie. Since then, there’s been non-stop speculation about who will end up as the next 007 now that the franchise is in the hands of Amazon MGM Studios. After all, few Hollywood roles have as much legacy behind them as James Bond (and aren’t superheroes).
Following Daniel Craig’s more grounded and gritty take on the role, it’s going to be fascinating to see what a new Bond actor might bring to the table for a new era. That said, the next 007 will no doubt need to be able to carry the James Bond franchise for the next several years.
Following recent reports that auditions are underway for the next James Bond, it’s fun to look at some of the top contenders online and major fan-casts. From franchise vets to rising stars, here are 10 actors who would be perfect as the next Bond.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is definitely a major frontrunner in the James Bond conversation online. Some of his most popular roles include
Kick-Ass, Bullet Train, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Kraven the Hunter, collectively proving that Taylor-Johnson can handle action-heavy and/or big franchise stories.
Incredibly charismatic, it’s not hard to picture Taylor-Johnson as the next Bond. Likewise, he can also be quite intimidating when necessary, an essential quality for a new 007. At 35, Taylor-Johnson also feels like he’s at the right age where he could certainly carry the Bond franchise just as long as Craig did (if not longer).
Thanks to shows and movies like Stranger Things, Gladiator II, and his latest role in the MCU as The Human Torch, Joseph Quinn has quickly become one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars, having starred in major franchise projects.
Although Quinn may not have the same action résumé as some other big contenders online, he does have some great natural charisma. If Amazon is indeed looking for a younger (and potentially more reckless) Bond, Joseph Quinn could be the perfect man for the job.
Henry Cavill
For many, Henry Cavill has been the dream James Bond casting choice for years. To that end, Cavill actually auditioned for Casino Royale, only to lose out to Craig as producers felt like he was too young at the time. Ironically, Henry Cavill is now on the older side of this list, though he’s certainly built up quite the resume in the year since he was first up for the role of 007.
Having been the DCEU’s Superman and The Witcher on Netflix, many are hoping that the time has finally come for Cavill to get his due with a major franchise role that actually lasts and ends on his terms. Furthermore, it can also be argued that his role in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. already proves that he has what it takes to be a perfect James Bond, and the same goes for his role in the Mission Impossible franchise.
Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden has certainly felt like a realistic Bond contender ever since projects like Netflix’s Bodyguard and especially Amazon’s major spy action series Citadel. Across all of his projects, Madden has very much proved he can convey the right amount of intensity and charisma required to play a believable 007. Additionally, his existing relationship with Amazon might at least get him an audition if he wants one.
Dev Patel
Kid (Dev Patel) looking furious, seen through sheer curtains, illuminated by neon light in Monkey ManImage via Peacock
Without a doubt, Dev Patel would easily be one of the most exciting James Bond choices ever. First gaining recognition with Slumdog Millionaire, Patel’s more recent work has increasingly showcased his action chops, particularly with 2024’s Monkey Man. He was also incredibly captivating in 2021’s The Green Knight, playing Sir Gawain. If Dev Patel were to become the next 007, audiences would likely receive a Bond with some great depth.
James Norton
James Norton has definitely been a frequent name in online conversations about the next James Bond. Known for projects like Happy Valley, McMafia, and Bob Marley: One Love, McMafia in particular proves his ability to potentially play a new James Bond.
Mission Briefing · Eyes Only How Well Do You Know James Bond? “Bond. James Bond.”
🍸MartiniShaken, not stirred
🚗DB5Ejector seat standard
🔧Q BranchNow pay attention
🔫Gun BarrelThe walk
🐙SPECTREWe’ve been expecting you
01
James Bond was created in 1953 by a former British Naval Intelligence officer who borrowed the name from the author of a dusty ornithology book on his desk in Jamaica. He wrote 12 Bond novels and two short story collections before his death in 1964. Name him.
✓ Correct! Ian Fleming. He wrote the first novel, Casino Royale, in 1953 at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, and literally lifted the name “James Bond” from the spine of Birds of the West Indies by the American ornithologist James Bond. Fleming wanted “the dullest name I could find” for his spy. He died of a heart attack in 1964, aged 56, and never saw the franchise become a cultural juggernaut.
✗ Wrong dossier. The answer is Ian Fleming. Le Carré wrote Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the colder, morally grey school of British espionage fiction. Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American and Our Man in Havana. Len Deighton wrote The IPCRESS File. Fleming is Bond — and the name literally came from the spine of Birds of the West Indies on his desk in Jamaica.
02
The EON Productions film series launched in 1962 with Dr. No, shot on a shoestring £1 million budget and directed by Terence Young. Ian Fleming reportedly wanted Cary Grant or David Niven. Instead the producers gambled on a 31-year-old former milkman from Edinburgh. Who was the first screen 007?
✓ Correct! Sean Connery. He’d worked as a milkman, coffin polisher and artist’s model before breaking through in film, and Fleming was initially horrified — he described Connery as an “overgrown stuntman.” After seeing Dr. No, Fleming changed his mind and retroactively gave Bond Scottish ancestry in later novels. Connery did six official EON films (Dr. No through Diamonds Are Forever) plus the unofficial 1983 Never Say Never Again.
✗ Wrong roster. The answer is Sean Connery. Roger Moore took over in 1973’s Live and Let Die. David Niven actually did play Bond — but only in the spoof 1967 Casino Royale, which is outside the EON canon. Timothy Dalton didn’t arrive until 1987. Connery’s 1962 Dr. No is where it all starts, and Fleming went from sceptic to fan within a year.
03
After Connery quit in 1967, the producers cast an unknown Australian male model who was so confident he’d get the role that he talked his way into an audition by telling Cubby Broccoli’s barber and his tailor that he was the new Bond. He only made one film — On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) — and quit. Who was he?
✓ Correct! George Lazenby. He had zero acting experience, talked his way in, got the role, and then walked away on the advice of an agent who told him Bond would be “dead by 1970.” It remains one of the most notorious career decisions in film history — On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is now widely considered one of the best Bond films ever made. Lazenby has been openly regretful about quitting in just about every interview since.
✗ Wrong file. The answer is George Lazenby. Timothy Dalton did two Bond films (The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill) in the late 1980s. Patrick McGoohan was offered Bond twice and turned it down both times, and went on to make The Prisoner instead. Paul McGann has never played Bond. Lazenby is the one-and-done who talked his way in with a borrowed suit and walked out a year later.
04
Bond’s most iconic car — silver birch paint, ejector seat, machine guns behind the headlights, revolving number plates — made its debut in Goldfinger (1964) and has returned in GoldenEye, Casino Royale, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die. What model is it?
✓ Correct! The Aston Martin DB5. First seen in Goldfinger (1964), it’s been the franchise’s signature vehicle for over 60 years and has a near-cameo role in almost every Craig-era film. Aston Martin sold the DB5 from 1963-65 at a price of about £4,175 new. One of the original Goldfinger stunt cars sold at auction in 2019 for $6.4 million — making it one of the most valuable movie cars ever.
✗ Wrong garage. The answer is the Aston Martin DB5 — Goldfinger, 1964. The DBS came later (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Casino Royale). The Lotus Esprit is the submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The BMW Z8 is Pierce Brosnan’s one-film-only 007 ride in The World Is Not Enough (1999). The DB5 is the ejector-seat one, and it’s the car that always comes back.
05
Bond’s drink of choice — a vodka martini with a specific preparation instruction he delivers to bartenders across five decades — is three words long. Purists note that shaking actually bruises the gin and over-dilutes the drink, but 007 doesn’t care. Complete the order.
✓ Correct! “Shaken, not stirred.” First delivered by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964), and said some 20 times across the film series. Fleming’s novels actually call for a “Vesper” — three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, shaken over ice until ice-cold, with a thin slice of lemon peel. In Casino Royale (2006), when asked if he wants it shaken or stirred, Craig deadpans: “Do I look like I give a damn?”
✗ Wrong pour. The answer is “Shaken, not stirred.” Connery said it first in Goldfinger (1964) and every Bond since has delivered a version. In Fleming’s Casino Royale novel Bond actually invents the Vesper Martini to the order of “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet” — shaken until ice cold. The phrase has become one of the most quoted lines in cinema.
06
Starting with GoldenEye (1995), a Dame of the British Empire became the first woman to play Bond’s MI6 boss on screen. She called 007 “a sexist, misogynist dinosaur — a relic of the Cold War” in her debut scene, and served across seven films before Skyfall (2012). Who was she?
✓ Correct! Judi Dench. She played M in seven films from GoldenEye (1995) to Skyfall (2012), spanning the Brosnan and Craig eras — a rare continuity bridge through the soft 1996 reboot. Her death at the end of Skyfall, in Bond’s arms, is still one of the series’ most emotionally earned moments. Ralph Fiennes took over as Mallory/M from Spectre onwards.
✗ Wrong file. The answer is Judi Dench. She played M from GoldenEye (1995) through Skyfall (2012), delivering the “sexist, misogynist dinosaur” line in her very first scene opposite Pierce Brosnan. Helen Mirren has played a Queen and a Prime Minister but never M. Maggie Smith and Emma Thompson are giants of British film, but Dench is 007’s M — and her onscreen death in Skyfall is the emotional climax of the Craig era.
07
Bond title songs have been performed by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Paul McCartney to Chris Cornell. In February 2013 the franchise finally won its first-ever Academy Award for Best Original Song, for the title track of the 23rd film. Which singer won it?
✓ Correct! Adele’s Skyfall won the Oscar at the 2013 ceremony — the first ever Best Original Song win for a Bond theme, ending a half-century wait. She co-wrote it with her longtime producer Paul Epworth. Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” (Spectre) and Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die” also both won Best Original Song Oscars later — making three in ten years after 50 years of shut-outs.
✗ Wrong track. The answer is Adele’s Skyfall — the first Bond theme ever to win the Best Original Song Oscar, in 2013. Sam Smith (Spectre, 2016) and Billie Eilish (No Time to Die, 2021) both later won their own Bond-song Oscars, but Adele was first. Madonna’s “Die Another Day” was actually Razzie-nominated for Worst Original Song — the opposite honour.
08
Daniel Craig — the sixth actor to headline an EON Bond film — ended his 15-year run in 2021 with a 25th instalment directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. In a franchise-shattering finale, 007 was killed off on a Royal Navy missile strike. What was Craig’s final Bond film called?
✓ Correct! No Time to Die (2021). Delayed 18 months by the pandemic, it gave Daniel Craig an unprecedented sendoff — 007 died on the final mission, obliterated by a missile strike on Safin’s nanobot island. Craig’s five-film run (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, No Time to Die) is the longest-arcing serialised Bond in the franchise’s history. The role has been vacant ever since, as Amazon and EON hash out the next casting.
✗ Wrong title. The answer is No Time to Die (2021). Skyfall was Craig’s 2012 peak (Adele’s theme, Judi Dench’s farewell). Spectre (2015) reintroduced Blofeld. Quantum of Solace (2008) was the second Craig film. No Time to Die is the twenty-fifth EON movie, Craig’s fifth, and the first film in the franchise’s history to outright kill off James Bond.
Mission Debrief · MI6 Your Licence Rating
🎖
/ 8
Double-O status — or still assigned to Q Branch?
Additionally, the rumor mill was firing on all cylinders early last year thanks to Playing Nice, a television project where Norton’s character at one point attends a formal event…and was the only one not wearing a tuxedo. Whenever a new actor signs on to play James Bond, they are contractually forbidden from wearing a tux in any other project to maintain the 007 image. As such, speculation naturally abounded about Norton as the next Bond once this was pointed out online (though it may be pure coincidence).
Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes as Billy Russo standing in front of the New York Skyline in The Punisher.
Although Ben Barnes may not be at the top of most James Bond rumor lists, I do think he deserves far more consideration. Over the years, Barnes has built up a fairly impressive resume across various fantasy, action, and thriller projects.
Ben Barnes’ breakout role was Prince Caspian in the second Chronicles of Narnia movie. Since then, some of his biggest and most captivating roles have admittedly been as villains/antagonists in projects like Shadow and Bone, Westworld, and Marvel’s The Punisher. However, Ben Barnes is still quite charming even in his darkest roles, which could be very exciting if Amazon MGM is looking to give the next James Bond more of a darker intensity.
Regé-Jean Page
Rege-Jean Page in The Gray Man
After his major role in Bridgerton, Regé-Jean Page quickly became one of the internet’s favorite Bond picks in the last few years, and it’s easy to see why.
Page has an impressive amount of natural charisma and dynamic screen presence. Likewise, he’s also shown some great action potential in projects like Dungeons & Dragons and The Gray Man. Without a doubt, it’s easy to see Amazon MGM going with Page to revitalize the entire James Bond franchise for a new era.
Tom Hiddleston
Loki as DB Cooper in Loki season 1
For years, Tom Hiddleston has absolutely been a name to frequently show up in James Bond fan-casting discussions. Much of this comes from his leading role in 2016’s spy thriller series The Night Manager, which can very much be viewed as a faux-audition piece for 007.
Naturally, Hiddleston is also a major Hollywood name thanks to his iconic MCU role as Loki. From 2011’s Thor to 2023’s Loki season 2, Hiddleston has had one of the most dynamic character arcs in the entire MCU, going from villain to hero to villain and back again.
Likewise, Hiddleston’s performance as Loki never stopped being full of dynamic charm and charisma. While he may be on the older side of this list, Hiddleston’s Bond could be more refined and intellectual, focusing more on spy craft compared to what we saw from Craig’s 007.
Callum Turner
Callum Turner is another intriguing option to play the next James Bond for Amazon MGM. Recent projects include Masters of the Air, Eternity, his role as Thesus Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and The Boys in the Boat. While he has done some action and big franchise work, it can be argued that Turner is still fairly new to the space compared to other potential contenders, which might be appealing to producers looking for a relatively fresher face who could really grow into the role across multiple new 007 films.
TV Show(s)
Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond
Video Game(s)
GoldenEye 007, The World Is Not Enough, 007: Nightfire, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, Quantum of Solace, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, GoldenEye 007 Remake, 007: Agent Under Fire
