A Netflix star just surged to the front of the James Bond race after an Amazon reboot audition
Amazon’s hunt for the next 007 is kicking into high gear — and the actor has reportedly already stepped in for a screen test.
If you thought the Bond rumour machine had finally run out of steam, think again – the hunt for the next 007 has just kicked into high gear, and there’s a wildcard contender fresh on the scene. Since Daniel Craig’s final bow as James Bond in 2021’s No Time to Die, half the UK has weighed in on which unlucky soul will be next to cradle the Walther PPK. Now, with proper auditions at long last happening, it seems we’re actually edging toward an answer. Maybe.
The Usual Suspects, With a Twist
For ages, Callum Turner (you’ll know him from Fantastic Beasts or Masters of the Air) has been sitting comfortably atop the bookies’ lists. He’s long seemed like the obvious safe bet: recognisable face, proven chops, and he can wear a suit without looking like he’s heading to prom. Rounding out the usual top picks are Aaron Taylor-Johnson (28 Years Later), Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man), and Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes 3), who’s basically a Bond-in-waiting if there ever was one.
But then, out of nowhere, a relative unknown has shot up to second place. Not a household name – in fact, probably not even a 'bathroom name' – but with Bond, sometimes that actually works in your favour. For every Sean Connery, there’s a Daniel Craig who showed up barely known and swaggered off as an icon.
Who on Earth is Tom Francis?
The bookies’ latest darling is Tom Francis, and unless you’ve got theatre kid energy, you probably haven’t heard of him. He’s an English actor and singer, best known (in certain West End circles, at least) for lighting up the stage rather than the screen. Francis has only a handful of proper screen credits – Netflix’s Jay Kelly and You among them – making him by far the most mysterious of the current bunch.
- Age: 27 (so, nice and youthful for a long-term Bond arc)
- Awards: Won an Olivier in 2024 for Sunset Boulevard; also Tony-nominated
- Upcoming Projects: Booked for The Mosquito Bowl (that’s the new one from Peter Berg, of Lone Survivor fame), but otherwise plenty of space in the diary for MI6 business
- Bond Suitability: Dark hair, the requisite cheekbones, and at least the right level of ‘could drink four martinis with minimal slurring’
Francis is, notably, by far the youngest of the serious front-runners after Partridge (who’s just 23). If the rumours are true and Amazon’s plotting a new origin story to pull in Gen-Z, Francis makes a certain amount of sense. The acting’s there – he’s got the hardware to prove it – but there’s little public evidence he can handle action set-pieces. The precedent is there, though: Connery was hardly an action star until he was.
What’s Actually Happening With the Film?
While the producers are keeping typically tight-lipped, the crucial bit is that the first round of auditions has actually happened, and reportedly Francis was one of the first out the gate. No official comments yet from Amazon or Francis himself (MovieWeb tried, apparently), but with the bookies jumping in reaction, it suggests whatever happened in that audition room went down rather well.
On the production side, there’s plenty to like. Denis Villeneuve – yep, Mr. Dune himself – is in the director’s chair, which should at least guarantee everything will look stunning enough to forgive whatever gadget nonsense MI6 decides to peddle this time. The script comes from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), so expect a bit more grit and a lot more regional accents than your average Bond.
A quick word of warning: you’ll be waiting a while for all this. The current whisper is that the next Bond film is aiming for cinemas no earlier than 2028. At this rate, the bookies are the only ones not aging out of contention.
'James Bond 26 is now all set to be directed by Dune franchise filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight writing the script.'