Ever since Denis Villeneuve was announced as the director of the next James Bond movie, there’s been rampant speculation over just who might be stepping into the shoes left behind in Daniel Craig’s explosive departure. But a new report suggests that for all of Amazon’s quick movement once it got control of the franchise, it might be a good while longer until the search for the next 007 gets underway.
A new report by Deadline today suggests that Villeneuve won’t begin the hunt for his new Bond in earnest until next year, once production is completed on his third (and most likely final) Dune film, Dune: Part Three, which began filming this past June. Although principal photography for Part Two was around five months, an end date for Part Three remains unknown (and it’s perhaps likely that Villeneuve will want to focus on elements of post-production into 2026 before shifting priorities to Bond).
Although Deadline’s report says that the search for the next face of the franchise hasn’t truly begun yet, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t at least some guidelines that Villeneuve and Amazon are honing their search on. According to the trade, the studio is looking for a British man, relatively unknown, in their late 20s or early 30s (so alas, put aside your Toms Hardy, your Idrises Elba, and perhaps even your Toms Holland—and absolutely your Pierces Brosnan, whatever he says) by the time the film begins shooting some time in 2027.
Also intriguing to note in the report is the idea that the new film may potentially focus on Bond’s career in the Royal Navy, depicting his time as a commander before he’s tapped by MI6 and eventually earns his 00-agent status. Although the direction of Stephen Knight’s script is still in the air as it’s being written, that potential focus is interestingly timed. After the conclusion of Craig’s era as Bond, a full-on reboot that envisions the character’s rise to the elite wings of British spycraft makes sense, but it will also mean it comes fascinatingly timed with next year’s 007 First Light.
A lot of the big draw of IO Interactive’s splashy new video game take on Bond is that it will similarly chart the story of a young Bond—the youngest we’ve seen so far at 26, depending on the eventual age of Villeneuve and Amazon’s pick—as he joins MI6 and rises through the ranks to 00-status. Obviously a video game and a new movie (that may not be out for a couple years after First Light‘s release) are very different things, but it’d be interesting to see if this new era of Bond starts out with two major projects that explore the early days of the legendary spy.
Either way, with the hunt for the next big screen Bond not happening quite so soon, and First Light not out until March 2026, it’s going to be a while until we really see what’s next for James.