Fans want Theo James as the next James Bond, but he says he’s too old
A fresh James Bond casting update has riled fans, with reports of final screen tests naming expected contenders but not the fan‑favourite many are still backing.
Right, Bond fans – there's a fresh round of wild speculation and online shouting matches over who will be the next James Bond. Personally, I find these casting frenzies a bit daft, but you can't ignore the appetite for 007 debate. The latest update from the industry – and, crucially, not from the studio – has left a few quite vocal fans wondering why one much-discussed favourite isn't in the mix.
Who's actually in the running?
According to Deadline, Amazon MGM Studios are at the stage of doing final screen tests for the next Bond. At least four test offers have apparently gone out – make of that what you will – but the names officially in the rumour mill are Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O'Connor. Not the most predictable shortlist, though apparently that's intentional. So far, nobody on the production side has confirmed these picks, nor offered up a final name.
Four actors are down for final Bond screen tests, but the studio is keeping names quiet for now.
The casting process is top secret as you'd expect, but that hasn't stopped a minor eruption on social media, mainly because one name is conspicuously missing: Theo James. And judging by the pile of posts and hashtags, quite a lot of viewers are annoyed he's not even being mentioned by the studio leaks.
The Theo James situation
The main reason Theo James keeps cropping up comes down to his work in Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen. He stars as Eddie Horniman, posh but handy in a fight, a role that manages to walk the line between upper-crust charm and genuine danger. In other words, precisely what many people reckon Bond should be. Fans aren't exactly quiet about it either. You can find posts like "Theo James should be Bond" and "Why isn't Theo James in this conversation too?" all over X (that is, Twitter, for anyone not caught up on the rebrand).
However, here's where the fantasy hits a bit of reality. James himself is openly sceptical about ever donning the tux. In a British GQ piece back in August 2026, he was blunt about it. He's 41 now and as he put it:
In James's own words speaking to GQ: "I’m definitely too old now, for one."
He didn't stop there, either – telling the mag that Bond is 'a place you could never come back from,' referencing how playing 007 can end up defining you forever, probably whether you like it or not. In another interview with Extra, James also flagged the privacy issues and scrutiny that come with the part, hinting he wouldn't want that sort of attention on his personal or family life. Can't really blame the bloke.
Still, public support for him is relentless, which is probably how we keep ending up with entire threads about how every other candidate "just isn't suave enough" or "doesn't have it" compared to Eddie from The Gentlemen.
The rest of what we know
On the production front, nothing is official, but one concrete shift has already happened – Denis Villeneuve is confirmed to direct the next Bond film, and Steven Knight is on script duties. These tests, however, are the biggest sign yet that Amazon MGM are finally moving towards closing the book on the endless Daniel Craig era and naming their new 007, even if the studio still haven't so much as hinted at an announcement date.