Daniel Craig's stint as 007 came to an end in No Time to Die. Photo / Supplied
Daniel Craig's stint as 007 came to an end in No Time to Die. Photo / Supplied
James Bond will return. Those words appeared – as is traditional – at the end of No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final Bond outing. Even with Craig’s 007 blown to smithereens, a new actor will soon step into the gun barrel and take aim at a new era of Bond. But when? And how? The next film – the 26th Bond film – is the subject of much debate and speculation.
At present, Bond fans are at the mercy of half-sibling producers – and EON Productions longtime Bond custodians – Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who offer the only real clues to Bond’s next step. Though Bond is at a fascinating juncture – not only because the next film will be a full reboot, but because Amazon has closed on a near $9 billion deal to snap up MGM and, with it, part ownership of Bond, James Bond. Here’s what we know so far about Bond 26.
The search for a new Bond hasn’t even begun
For British actors of a certain age, the Bond rumours are inescapable – like a red laser up the undercarriage that simply can’t be escaped. Indeed, Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, and Jamie Dornan must be sick to death of the questions about it, while other names – the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Hardy, and Taron Egerton – have been linked. Telegraph writers (myself included) have championed Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page as a man-of-the-moment for the 007 gig.
Ever since Daniel Craig hung up the Double-Os in No Time to Die, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have insisted that the search for Bond MK 7 hasn’t even started. At the BAFTAs in February, Broccoli maintained that the decision casting “is going to be a couple of years off”. One issue, said Broccoli, is finding an actor to take on a “10-12 year commitment”. Signing up to play His Majesty’s finest spy is not a one-and-done deal. Though it’s hard to believe that the producers aren’t quietly considering at least one or two candidates.
Could Henry Cavill be the next Bond? Photo / Supplied
It won’t be a young Bond
Bond’s new face might be undecided, but his age remains reassuringly old(er). The idea of young James Bond has been bandied around. (The “young” reboot is a common go-to for hackneyed franchise flogging). Wilson shot down the idea of young Bond at a BFI event last October. “We’ve tried looking at younger people in the past. But trying to visualise it doesn’t work,” he said. “Remember, Bond’s already a veteran. He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something.”
Indeed, Bond is a naval commander (average age 42) and previous actors haven’t been appropriately un-spring chicken like (average age 38). Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams told the Radio Times this week that they looked at young actors for 2006 reboot Casino Royale, but she didn’t think the youngsters had the “gravitas” or “mental capacity” for Bond. The 26-year-old Tom Holland pitched a Bond origin story to former distributor Sony but was turned down. “I don’t think the Bond estate were particularly interested,” Holland told Total Film.
But Bond 26 will be a ‘reinvention’
At least, that’s the word Barbara Broccoli has used to describe Bond 26 on multiple occasions – which is why EON won’t cast a new Bond until they’re sure about the series’ next step. “It’s not just about casting an actor for a film,” Broccoli told LADBible at the BAFTAs. “It’s about a reinvention.”
Bond’s ever-changing face aside, reinvention is nothing new. As much of a sexist, misogynist dinosaur Bond may be (M’s words, not mine), he has moved with the times – see him dealing with the end of the Cold War in GoldenEye, or muscling in on Jason Bourne’s smash-face style with Casino Royale. More importantly, Bond tends to reground himself once every generation, whenever his films get a bit daft (as No Time to Die undoubtedly did). Expect the reinvention to see Bond finding a place in the zeitgeist and following action trends, rather than being recast as a woman. “We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through,” Broccoli told Deadline last June. She added: “We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time.”
Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the premiere of No Time to Die. Photo / Getty Images
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been rumoured to direct
But that’s all it is so far: a rumour. Earlier this month, the Mail Online reported that Waller-Bridge was a favourite front-runner with Broccoli. According to an unnamed source: “Barbara has been quite open about saying Phoebe would be her first choice to direct and co-write the next film”.
Waller-Bridge was previously enlisted to spruce up the No Time to Die script. She’s also working on several projects, including a Tomb Raider series, for new Bond co-owners Amazon. If the rumour turns out to be true, it would mark the first time a woman has directed a Bond film (though critics often forget that a woman, Barbara Broccoli, has been in charge of Bond for 30 years). Without a script, actor, or creative direction, it’s highly unlikely that a director will be confirmed for at least a year.
Bond won’t be played by a woman
Broccoli and Wilson are adamant that 007 will remain a man. “He can be of any colour, but he is male,” Broccoli told Variety back in 2020. The issue is less about a lack of a female Bond and more a lack of female characters overall. “I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles,” Broccoli told The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”
Broccoli’s point is absolutely right: that women shouldn’t be validated by a crusty old man’s role. In Bond’s case, 60 years old and counting. Daniel Craig agrees. “There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour,” Craig told the Radio Times. “Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
No, Daisy May Cooper won’t be ‘M’ (so she says)
'The only M I'll ever be is mental': Daisy May Cooper shot down Bond rumours at the RTS Awards. Photo / Getty Images
The Bond rumour mill took an unexpected turn last month when The Sun reported that This Country star Daisy May Cooper was in talks to play M in the next Bond film. After the death of Bond in No Time to Die – which drew a definite line under Craig’s tenure – it stands to reason that Bond’s troupe of supporting characters – M, Q, and Moneypenny – will be recast. The report seemed largely based on Cooper’s real-life friendship with Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Dramatic heavyweights Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes have played the spymaster role most recently, and Cooper, best known as a comedy actress, as M could mark quite the reinvention. After the stony-faced seriousness of Craig’s tenure, some levity would be welcome in Bond – though let’s leave all-out comedy to the bum-pinching sauciness of the Roger Moore era. Cooper shot down the rumours herself with an acceptance speech she sent to the Royal Television Society Awards: “I can’t be there because I’m filming Bond... jokes, the only M I’ll ever be is mental.” Though is Cooper playing double agent? At this early stage, it could be a “for your eyes only” type situation.
Bond 26 is not a set up for a spin-offs
Please, spare us the “Bond-verse”. That seemed a distinct possibility when Amazon acquired MGM for US$8.45 billion (NZ$13.6b), which included 50 pc ownership of Bond – its not-so-secret weapon in the streaming war against Netflix and Disney+. Spin-offs, Prime series, and lord knows what else could be coming down the Trans Siberian Pipeline like a defecting Soviet general. Amazon has already announced a reality series, 007′s Road to a Million, in which contestants compete for a cash prize across Bond locations worldwide.
Initial reports maintained that EON would retain control over creative decisions. “We’ve been told that things are not going to change,” said Broccoli when the acquisition was in its early stages. Broccoli has also rejected that very current trend of milking an IP with supporting characters. “Sure, there are other main characters like M and Q and all that,” Broccoli told The Hollywood Reporter. “But we haven’t really wanted to make a Bond film without Bond. It would be like making Hamlet without Hamlet.”
Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig. Photo / Getty Images
Bond will stay in cinemas… for now
Broccoli and Wilson have seen off previous attempts at a Bond TV series — “We’ve resisted that call for 60 years,” Wilson told Total Film – and, along with a resistance to spin-offs, EON are committed to making Bond for the cinema. Bond going straight to digital was mooted during the Covid delay of No Time to Die, while big budget Marvel films now find their way very quickly – or even immediately – on Disney+. Broccoli reiterated: “We make films. We make films for the cinema. That’s what we do.” Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, though, Broccoli’s stance seemed less certain. “We make theatrical films and go to great pains to make them as cinematic as possible… I think that’s what we intend to do, but things change, so who knows? Down the road, it may be different.”
Despite assurances, the influence of Amazon is a concern. Screenwriter John Logan, co-writer of Skyfall and Spectre, wrote a New York Times op-ed warning against the influence of Amazon’s corporate interests (“What happens when focus groups report they don’t like Bond drinking martinis?”). EON was also dealt a blow when MGM bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy left amid the Amazon takeover. Will EON be able to resist Amazon taking control? Thankfully, fans can rely on Broccoli and Wilson’s integrity – so far, they have fiercely guarded Bond’s best interests.
With Broccoli and Wilson focused on how to reinvent Bond, the next film is still way off. “I’d say that filming is at least two years away,” Broccoli told Deadline last June – a timeframe she repeated just two months ago, which suggests that things are moving slowly for Bond 26. Broccoli has also confirmed that there’s no script. Speaking on the Empire podcast last year, however, she hinted that veteran Bond writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis (who’ve co-written every film since The World is Not Enough in 1999) could return to the fold to get the ball rolling. “That’s something that we’ll do, probably with Rob and Neal,” said Broccoli about Bond’s next move. “We’ll start the process and then we’ll see where we go.”
