Next James Bond: Lowden, Turner and O’Connor face final screen tests

Who is the next James Bond? Nobody has been cast yet, but the race to become the new James Bond actor is down to a final group of four, and their screen tests could start as early as today.

Deadline reports that Amazon MGM Studios has sent out at least four test offers, and insiders name three of the actors as Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O’Connor. The fourth has not been named, and Amazon MGM has confirmed none of it. Here is who is in the running, what the bookies say, and when the new 007 will be announced.

Who will be the next James Bond?

No one has been confirmed. The final four testing for the role are reported to be Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Josh O’Connor and one unnamed actor.

Deadline stresses that the names are unconfirmed, though the Hollywood Reporter and Variety have also named Lowden and Turner. All three named actors are British and 36, a year younger than Daniel Craig was when he was announced as Bond on 14 October 2005. Whoever gets the part will be the seventh actor to play Bond in the official film series.

When are the James Bond screen tests?

They could start as early as today, Friday 23 October, and run through next week, Deadline reports.

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety say the tests take place in London this weekend. According to reports, each test covers three things.

• 1Stunts
• 2Camera presence
• 3Dialogue

The tests were first planned for earlier this month, but Deadline says they were pushed back so the finalists could all do them around the same time. The Guardian notes it is more than 20 years since the last full Bond screen test, when Henry Cavill was reported to be a finalist before the role went to Daniel Craig.

Who is on the James Bond shortlist?

Lowden, Turner, O’Connor and one unnamed actor are testing. Jacob Elordi and Jack O’Connell are not, the Hollywood Reporter says.

Status as reported by Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter. Amazon MGM has confirmed none of it.

Elordi had been widely tipped among the James Bond candidates, so his absence is the biggest change to the shortlist. Some Instagram posts today also list Jack Barton, from SAS: Rogue Heroes and Heartstopper, as a finalist in place of O’Connor. That traces back to a Page Six report in August, which put Barton at the front of a six-man shortlist. This week’s reports do not name him, though nobody has ruled him out as the fourth actor.

Next James Bond odds: who is the favourite?

Jack Lowden, at 8/13 with William Hill, ahead of Callum Turner at 3/1 and Josh O’Connor at 8/1.

William Hill odds as listed on Oddschecker on the morning of Friday 23 October. Odds can change quickly.

Is Jack Lowden the next James Bond?

Not officially. He is the bookies’ favourite and one of the three named finalists, but Amazon has confirmed nothing.

Lowden’s odds were cut after Richard Osman said on his podcast, The Rest Is Entertainment, that Lowden would get the part, The Scotsman reports. His Slow Horses director Adam Randall told the Hollywood Reporter in September that Lowden would be a “pretty perfect” Bond, and his co-star Gary Oldman went further.

Oldman added that his fingers were crossed for Lowden. Not everyone is convinced. Charlie Higson, author of the latest official Bond novel, told The Times that Lowden is “not a convincing hand-to-hand fighter”, and Slow Horses co-star Nick Mohammed told The Telegraph he suspected Lowden might be too old, citing rumours that producers want an actor in his late twenties.

Interest is strongest close to home. Google Trends puts Scotland, where Lowden grew up, top of the UK nations for interest in James Bond this week.

Is Callum Turner the next James Bond?

Not confirmed. Callum Turner is one of the three named finalists and second favourite at 3/1.

Turner has refused to be drawn. In a Hollywood Reporter profile in June, he said he was not going to comment on the rumours and insisted he “genuinely” knew nothing. George Clooney, who directed him in The Boys in the Boat, used the same profile to back him for the role.

The most notable objection came from Debbie McWilliams, who cast Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig before retiring. She told The Independent in June that she did not want Turner, Jacob Elordi or Harris Dickinson as Bond “because we now know so much about them”, and that the next 007 should come “completely out of the blue”.

When will the next James Bond be announced?

The new James Bond has not been announced yet, and Amazon has set no date. Deadline says most expect a decision by the end of 2026.

Producer Amy Pascal told Deadline in August that the end of the year was “a good bet”. Amazon MGM’s public line is that it will not comment on details during casting and will share news with fans “as soon as the time is right”. Here is how the search has gone so far.

1. Spring 2026Casting director Nina Gold joins and the search begins.
2. August 2026First round of auditions.
3. September 2026Shortlist cut and test offers made.
4. From 23 OctoberFinal screen tests, running through next week.
5. By end of 2026Announcement expected, though Amazon has set no date.
6. 2028Bond 26 reportedly due in cinemas.

When is the next James Bond film out?

Bond 26 is reportedly positioned for a 2028 release, with Dune director Denis Villeneuve directing from a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Amazon took creative control of Bond from the Broccoli family last year, in a deal the Guardian says cost more than $1bn. Villeneuve’s Dune: Messiah premieres this December.

We will update this page as the screen tests finish and when Amazon names the new Bond.