Move over, Henry Cavill — the new James Bond favorite's in town

So, the Bond rumour mill is properly back in motion, with Amazon giving the green light for a full 007 reboot and everyone placing bets on who’ll end up sipping martinis next. The official reveal isn't far off now, apparently – but surprise, surprise, a new name's just shot up the shortlist, and it points to a very different, much younger direction for Her Majesty's favourite spy.

Next Bond Auditions: Villeneuve Is Making the Calls Himself

Here's what we know: The list of potential James Bonds has just thinned out, with director Denis Villeneuve (yes, the bloke behind Dune and Blade Runner 2049) personally ringing up actors who've advanced to the next round of auditions. Those are set for August, and while the official shortlist is still under wraps, word is anywhere between 5 and 'the teens' of actors will be put through their paces. Bit vague, but that’s Hollywood for you.

The Young Gun Making Waves: Louis Partridge

If you were holding out for Henry Cavill to finally don the tux, you might have to settle for the next best thing. Louis Partridge, best known as Millie Bobby Brown’s sidekick in the Enola Holmes films (where Cavill played a peculiarly ripped Sherlock), has suddenly leapfrogged up the bookies' list. Not only that, but he actually played a younger version of Cavill’s spy persona in the post-credits bit of Argylle – which is the sort of trivia pub quiz fiends live for.

These are the current bookies' top picks for new Bond:

• Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes, Argylle)
• Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts)
• Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man)
• Jacob Elordi (Euphoria)
• Aaron Taylor Johnson (28 Years Later)

Partridge is just 23, which makes him by far the youngest name that’s been bandied about for the job in years. This lines up with rumours Amazon wants someone who can stick with the role for the long haul – think a decade or more of brooding around southern Europe with a PPK. If you’re picking up hints of a full Bond origin story, you're not wrong. The recent 007: First Light game went down that road, and it was a big hit. It wouldn’t exactly be a shock if the films followed suit.

The Bond Connections and More Than a Passing Resemblance

Louis Partridge isn’t just another pretty face – though let’s be honest, he does look uncannily like a young Cavill. He’s already clocked up blockbuster experience (Pan, Paddington 2, both Enola Holmes movies, plus the Netflix drama Jay Kelly). More tellingly, he’s due to appear in House of Guinness, a Netflix series written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight – and Knight’s now officially writing the Bond reboot. Coincidence? Probably not.

His action hero credentials haven’t had a proper stress-test yet, nor has his capacity for classic Bond charisma. Although, he’s about to star as George Wickham in a new Pride and Prejudice adaptation, which means we’ll soon find out how he manages the ‘smouldering sex symbol’ bit.

'Producers and director Denis Villeneuve have begun informing talent who have made the next round of auditions.'

If Amazon wants a young star with a bit of experience, a familiar face, and some golden ticket connections to both Old Bond (Cavill) and New Bond (Knight), Partridge now looks, on paper, like a genuinely plausible frontrunner.