Casting for the next James Bond has officially begun.
Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon MGM Studios began auditioning actors to take over one of the movie industry’s crown jewels, according to a Thursday report from Variety.
The site learned that the search for the suave, debonair spy has been underway for “the past few weeks.” It also reports that Oscar-nominated Game of Thrones and Hamnet casting director Nina Gold is spearheading.
Neither Amazon nor Gold replied to the Daily Beast’s request for comment, but Amazon MGM Studios, which purchased the franchise in 2022, said in a statement, “The search for the next James Bond is underway.”
“While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
Daniel Craig, 58, was the seventh actor to take on the leading role, stepping down after his fifth film, 2021’s No Time To Die. The actor said he has no regrets about leaving the storied franchise. “None at all,” Craig said in 2022. “I left it where I wanted it to be. And I was given the chance to do that with the last movie.”
Craig, whose Bond died at the end of No Time To Die, said his departure was “a chance to reset” for the series.
The new film, purportedly slated for a 2028 or 2029 release date at the earliest, will be helmed by Dune director Denis Villeneuve, who has lobbied for the opportunity for more than a decade.
“Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007....I’m a die-hard Bond fan,” he said in June. “This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.”
Even before Craig departed the series, speculation about the next Bond actor was rampant. Several actors, including Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, and Jacob Elordi, have been touted as in pole position for the coveted role.
In September, sources close to the film reported that Villeneuve is looking for an “unknown,” “fresh face” British actor in his 20s or 30s to take on the job, which would rule out American notables like Timothée Chalamet or Austin Butler, as well as established actors like Elba, 53, and Cavill, 43.
The actors currently jockeying for position appear to be Oscar-nominated Elordi, 28, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and up-and-coming British actors like Callum Turner and Harris Dickinson.
Beside them is Tom Holland, 29, who bluntly expressed his interest in the part.
“I mean, every young British actor, it’s the pinnacle of working in our industry,” Holland said in August.
Fellow Brit Riz Ahmed either catapulted himself into frontrunning or entirely cratered his chances with his new Amazon TV show Bait, in which his character auditions for the iconic espionage role.
“For anyone who’s still not convinced, I have one thing to say,” Ahmed said in March. “If somebody’s saying, ‘Why should you be the next James Bond?’ I would say to them, ‘Why not?’”
