Earlier this week, we learned that Dune director Denis Villeneuve would helm the next movie in the James Bond series; it'll be the 26th, for those counting. Amazon now has full control of the James Bond franchise, and they are moving full speed ahead. Variety reports that they already have a short list of stars in mind to play the venerable British super-spy, including Jacob Elordi (Saltburn), Harris Dickinson (Babygirl) and Tom Holland, Spider-Man himself.
All of these guys are in their late 20s, which reflects Amazon's desire to cast a young actor as Bond. In the years since Daniel Craig took his final bow as Bond in 2021's No Time To Die, there's been lots of talk about who should take on the role next, with actors like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Henry Cavill and Idris Elba coming up frequently. But those actors are in their 30s, 40s and 50s respectively, so they're all grandfathered out.
That said, if Amazon chooses any of the men on their shortlist, they'll be their 30s by the time the movies comes out. The company wants to put this movie on the fast track, but it'll still take a while to get an idea, write a script, spent millions of dollars shooting the thing, market it, and release it. According to Variety's sources, anything sooner than a 2028 release is unrealistic.
Denis Villeneuve is currently work on Dune: Part Three, so that will keep him tied up for a minute. Amazon is also looking for a writer and has a shortlist of candidates in mind. But I think everyone is most interested in the actor the studio will choose.
Tom Holland is the most famous of the three guys on the short list, so famous I wonder if he'll have time to spare; we know he's working on another movie as Spider-Man called Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and I wouldn't be surprised if he sticks around the Marvel Cinematic Universe for other films after that. Elordi and Dickinson both have busy schedules, but they're not already tied to any mega-franchises the way Holland is. If someone from this short list is picked, I'm betting it'll be one of them.
You know what, I'm gonna go ahead and predict Dickinson gets it, because if it comes down him him and Jacob Elordi, the fact that Elordi is Australian might count against him ever so slightly; James Bond is one of the most famous British roles in the world, after all. But that's just speculation. We'll keep an eye out.
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