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Final James Bond screen tests to take place this weekend, reports say - Published Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O'Connor are among the actors thought to be taking part in final auditions to play James Bond, according to reports. Screen tests are said to be taking place this weekend, possibly as early as Friday, according to the Hollywood Reporter, external, with between three and five actors understood to have reached the last stages of the process. The finalists are said to be taking part in auditions with three components - stunts, camera presence and dialogue. Deadline reported the screen tests, external had been due take place in early October, but had been delayed by scheduling conflicts, while Variety said Turner and Lowden, external "appear to be in the mix" to replace Daniel Craig. British actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson and James Norton were previously connected to the role, while Irish actor Paul Mescal's name had also been thrown into the mix. Other actors now appear to be in the frame, but reports on the current casting situation vary. Variety suggested Slow Horses star Lowden may now be edging ahead, while Masters of the Air star Turner was speculated about earlier this year, with some fans suggesting his wife Dua Lipa could sing the Bond theme song. Sources told Deadline that at least four final screen test offers have been made, and while unconfirmed, "three of the four expected to test are Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O'Connor". O'Connor is best known for playing Prince Charles in The Crown, and for starring in 2025's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, with Craig. Jack O'Connell had been thought to be in the mix, but sources said this may no longer be the case, while Euphoria and Wuthering Heights Star Jacob Elordi is not thought to be testing. Other stars who were previously linked with the role include The King's Man star Harris Dickinson, along with SAS: Rogue Heroes' Jack Barton. Deadline said: "Even with the tests wrapping next week, there is no timeline for when a final decision will be made." Amazon MGM Studios, who now control the Bond franchise, announced in May, external that the casting process was under way, but had no further comment at the time. In August, Amy Pascal, one of the next film's producers, told Deadline, external the "end of the year is a good bet" for possible news on who would be playing Bond. "We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow," she said. "And it's got to be something really different that is a stirring and exciting and different." The BBC's Lizo Mzimba reported in September that "for a series where the stakes are so high, no expense is spared in ensuring that the film team know exactly how each auditionee will come across on screen". He added: "As the 007 team themselves have explained, external in the past: 'Bond screen tests are elaborate affairs involving hair and make-up, costumes, sets, and other actors'." Only six actors have ever played novelist Ian Fleming's British Secret Service agent 007 in the official film series - Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. The last announcement of a new Bond was in 2005 with Craig, who last starred in the role in 2021's No Time to Die, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. During the equivalent stage of the audition process two decades ago, Superman actor Henry Cavill was widely thought to have also been in the running. "They told me I was close," Cavill told the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2022. "They told me it was ultimately down to, and this is what I've been told, it was just down to me and Daniel, and I was the younger option. "They obviously went with Daniel and I think it was an amazing choice to go with Daniel," he said. "I probably wasn't ready at the time and I think Daniel did an incredible job over the past movies, so I'm happy they made that choice." The forthcoming film, reportedly out in 2028, will be directed by Dune's Denis Villeneuve, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight writing the script. Knight told Zoe Ball on Greatest Hits Radio, external in September that the first draft of the script was completed. Amazon bought MGM for $8.5bn (£6.3bn) in 2021, which included the rights to distribute James Bond, and they are reported to have paid at least $20m (£14.9m) more for the rights to creatively control Bond's future. Pascal and David Heyman are producing the film, while Tanya Lapointe is executive producer. Knight's final words on the film were about how much he was enjoying working on it. He told Ball:, external "I'm absolutely loving doing it. It's an honour to be asked. And believe it's going to be so good. I really do believe it's going to be amazing." Related topics - Published18 August 2025 - Published25 December 2021
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