All 9 James Bond Actors Ranked From Worst To Best — Plus the Official New 007 Actor

Amazon MGM Studios’ untitled James Bond reboot is in development. While there’s no release date yet, speculation about who will inherit the 007 designation has heated up considerably in recent weeks, with several names being floated as potential candidates.

The new Bond remains classified, but here are “007” things we already know about the new actor.

1. The Creative Team Has Been Assembled

At this point, it’s no mystery that Bond 26 is being directed by Denis Villeneuve, who helmed Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Dune (2021), Dune: Part Two (2024), and Dune: Part Three (2026).

Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, is writing the script, and the film is being produced by Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) and David Heyman (the Harry Potter films).

2. James Bond Will Remain Male

Despite countless rumors over the years, the next Bond will not be female.

Several key figures have pushed back against the idea of a “gender-swapped” 007, including Daniel Craig himself, his No Time to Die (2021) co-star Ana de Armas, and longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.

Last year, Deadline confirmed that the team and the studio are seeking a “fresh face” to play 007, adding that the character will remain male and as written by Ian Fleming, with the actor also being British.

“Those familiar with the matter tell us that the director and his collaborators are seeking a ‘fresh face’ to take on the 007 mantle in Bond 26,” the outlet wrote. “Also, Bond… James Bond will be male, as written by creator Ian Fleming, and importantly, will be an actor who hails from the British isles. Yes, they want a Brit to play Bond.”

3. The New Actor Will Be “Unknown”

In that same report, Deadline also wrote: “Those in the know tell us the ideal approach is to cast ‘an unknown,’ possibly in his late 20s or early 30s, to play what Fleming called ‘a blunt instrument’ — the lethal but ‘extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened’.”

This also lines up with the “fresh face” comment.

Even while Daniel Craig’s film series was ongoing, several big names were being floated online as potential replacements, such as Tom Holland (the MCU’s Spider-Man), Idris Elba (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), and Henry Cavill (Man of Steel).

More recently, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (28 Years Later), Jacob Elordi (Wuthering Heights), Jack Barton (Heartstopper), and Jack Lowden (Slow Horses) have entered the conversation, with some even appearing on rumored shortlists.

But if it’s true that the studio is looking for an “unknown” actor, then it instantly removes all those candidates from the running.

4. He’ll Be a Young James Bond

Another important detail we learned from Deadline’s report is that this will likely be a younger James Bond, in his late 20s or early 30s. This is hardly surprising when you look back at the past year, which has given us two young 007s under Amazon MGM Studios’ stewardship.

Irish actor Patrick Gibson (Dexter: Original Sin) portrayed a 26-year-old Bond in the IO Interactive video game 007 First Light (2026), and Isaac Rouse (The Crown Season 6) has been cast as a teenage version of the character in the upcoming Young Bond: SilverFin audio series.

5. The New 007 Will Be Stirred, Not Shaken (and We’ll Find Out Soon)

Bond 26 producer Amy Pascal recently told Deadline that “the end of the year is a good bet” for finding out who the new actor is. Interestingly, she also said that the new iteration of 007 has “got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different.”

6. An Actor Has Already Been Cast (Maybe)

Recently, writer Steven Knight strongly implied that the actor had been cast.

During an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, when asked whether he’d been writing the film with the chosen actor in mind, he said, “It’s a bit of both. It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.”

If reports, rumors, and comments from several figures in the industry are to be believed, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden may have landed the role. But we’ll have to wait for the announcement.

7. He Will Replace Daniel Craig’s Bond

Unsurprisingly, the new James Bond will not be the same one as Daniel Craig’s iteration of the character.

Craig played Bond in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).

Of course, this is nothing new for 007. Typically, a new actor means a new Bond and a new continuity (although it’s not always as straightforward as it sounds). Some actors span the same timeline; however, as Craig’s Bond was killed in No Time to Die, the new film will be a full reboot.

Either way, the next actor will follow Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Craig, marking the beginning of another new era for Bond in film.

There’s no release date for James Bond 26.

Who do you think will play James Bond in Amazon MGM’s film reboot? Share your thoughts in the comments down below!