What We Actually Know About the New James Bond

Veteran showbiz correspondent Baz Bamigboye has a reputation as one of the most reliable sources for insider information. And his "Breaking Baz" column at Deadline has just given us a casting update for the new Bond film.

Bamigboye's latest exclusive reveals that Denis Villeneuve and his team are hunting for "an unknown" British actor in his late 20s or early 30s to play the next James Bond.

More importantly, Baz made it clear that "99.9% of the names we've heard speculated online so far won't make the cut."

For fans who have been placing bets on established stars like Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, or Henry Cavill, that's an unfortunate wake-up call. Any Americans are also out.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

What Villeneuve Is Really Looking For

The parameters are fascinating: British, male, young, relatively unknown, and capable of embodying Fleming's "blunt instrument" who can "kill you with his bare hands in a trice," according to Baz's sources.

The emphasis on physical presence makes sense when you consider that Steven Knight, the screenwriter behind Peaky Blinders and Eastern Promises, is crafting a script that reportedly revisits Bond's Royal Navy origins.

Who Are Potential Candidates?

So who fits this profile?

The casting net is suddenly much smaller. We have to think about British actors who possess that combination of classical training, physical presence, and relative anonymity that made Daniel Craig such an inspired choice back in 2005.

“He’s always been this strange mix of blank tough guy and high-living secret agent, and that is the juggling act of casting Bond," writer Henry Chancellor told Variety earlier this year. "Too much tough guy, and it’s just another action movie. Too much expense account snob, and you are just dying for Blofeld or some other megalomaniac villain to take him down."

Consider someone like Callum Turner, who's shown range in projects like The King's Man and Fantastic Beasts. Another possibility is Nico Mirallegro, who's proven his dramatic range in everything from My Mad Fat Diary to Mike Leigh's Peterloo.

For emerging talent, think Leo Woodall, who is the right age and has proven leading man credentials in One Day and The White Lotus. Harry Cadby is a LAMDA-trained performer who has been building his resume in British television with appearances in Inside Man and Netflix's Everything Now.

Then there's the possibility of true unknowns. These could be actors currently working in British television, regional theater, or smaller films who haven't yet broken out. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and other prestigious drama schools produce talented actors who could audition.

The fact that this Bond could be any ethnicity opens even more possibilities, potentially giving us actors like Ncuti Gatwa, Regé-Jean Page, Tosin Cole, or Rish Shah—though some of these names are probably already too established for Villeneuve's "fresh face" criteria.

Principal photography is not expected to begin until 2027. We're looking at a 2028 release date.

In the meantime, let us know your casting guesses. Who could play this beloved government agent, a killer with essential British cool?