The usual circus that surrounds the casting of a potential new 007 shows no signs of abating. No matter what tabloids and online outlets say, though, there won’t be a new James Bond actor cast this year.
Deadline has reported that director Denis Villeneuve won’t even begin searching for a new actor to play Bond until he completes production on Dune: Part Three, which has been in production since July and will remain his sole focus for the rest of this year.
The trade outlet has also said that they have sources within the Bond project who confirm that he and the producers are looking for a “fresh face”, so none of the established names linked to the role are in the running. They also confirm that the character will remain male, and that the actor will be from the British Isles.
The report also says that writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, SAS: Rogue Heroes) has considered going back to Bond’s immediate time before joining MI6, as a Royal Navy Commander, at least for the start of the story.
A story from that period, however, is already being told via the new 007: First Light video game so it is entirely possible that the trade and it’s “sources” are simply rehashing several snippets of Bond-related info drifiting about out there.
This has been common in the past, when outlets would breathlessly name potential titles and plots, including villains and character names, as if they were in posession of an exclusive when they were, in fact, just regurgitating things from the Raymond Benson continuation novels as fact.
Whatever happens, the new Bond movie is unlikely to be in production before 2027 for a 2028 release.
