Final James Bond screen tests set for this weekend, reports say

The latest:

The last round of screen tests for the next James Bond is expected this weekend, possibly as early as Friday, the Hollywood Reporter reported, with between three and five actors understood to have reached the final stage. Deadline reported that at least four final test offers have been made, and that the sessions were originally planned for early October before scheduling conflicts pushed them back.

Details:

• The format: The auditions are reported to have three components — stunts, camera presence and dialogue. The BBC’s Lizo Mzimba reported in September that no expense is spared in establishing how each auditionee reads on screen, with the 007 team describing the tests as elaborate productions involving hair, make-up, costumes, sets and other actors.
• The names: Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor are among those thought to be taking part. Deadline cited sources saying three of the four expected to test are Lowden, Turner and O’Connor, while Variety said Turner and Lowden “appear to be in the mix” and suggested Lowden may be edging ahead.
• Who is out: Jack O’Connell had been thought a contender, but sources indicated that may no longer be the case, while Jacob Elordi is not thought to be testing. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Norton, Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson and Jack Barton were all linked to the role at earlier stages.
• The candidates: Lowden stars in Slow Horses, Turner in Masters of the Air. O’Connor is best known for playing Prince Charles in The Crown and appeared alongside Daniel Craig in 2025’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Some fans suggested Turner’s wife, Dua Lipa, could record the theme song.
• No timeline: Deadline reported that even with the tests wrapping next week, there is no timeline for a final decision. Amazon MGM Studios announced in May that the casting process was under way and offered no further comment at the time.
• The producer: Amy Pascal, one of the next film’s producers, told Deadline in August that the end of the year is a good bet for casting news. She said the team is being methodical, that Craig is a hard act to follow, and that the choice has to be stirring, exciting and different.
• The film: The next instalment, reported for 2028, will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight writing. Knight told Greatest Hits Radio in September that the first draft was complete. Pascal and David Heyman are producing; Tanya Lapointe is executive producer.
• The ownership: Amazon bought MGM for $8.5bn in 2021, a deal that included rights to distribute James Bond. It is reported to have paid at least $20m more for creative control over the franchise’s future.
• The precedent: At the equivalent stage two decades ago, Henry Cavill was widely thought to be in the running. He told the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2022 that he was told it came down to him and Craig, that he was the younger option, and that he probably was not ready.

Background:

Only six actors have played Ian Fleming’s 007 in the official series: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. The last casting announcement came in 2005. Craig held the role across 15 years and five films, ending with 2021’s No Time to Die.

Between the lines:

The gap between a finished script, a named director and an unfilled lead role explains the pace: Amazon MGM has reportedly spent at least $20m on creative control and, by Pascal’s account, is moving deliberately. Competing reports on who is testing — with names added and dropped between outlets — suggest the shortlist has shifted repeatedly since the process was announced in May.

What’s next

Whether the tests wrap next week, as Deadline reported, and whether a name emerges by year-end, which Pascal called a good bet. Amazon MGM has not set a date for an announcement.