License to Cast: 007 Shortlist Narrows as Denis Villeneuve Nears Key “James Bond” Auditions
One of the most coveted roles in Hollywood is getting that much closer to being claimed.
An exciting new phase in Amazon MGM’s work on its first installment in the iconic James Bond franchise has begun. Deadline reports that director Denis Villeneuve and producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman have begun letting talent know who will be asked back for the next round of auditions, which are set to take place later this summer. Villeneuve has been calling the performers himself, and although the names of those asked back are being kept secret, Deadline reports that the auditions will take place this August.
Even the number of actors returning in August is a state secret, with some sources saying it will be between 5 and 7 and others saying it will be in the teens. Villeneuve, Pascal, and Heyman are also deploying the talented casting director Nina Gold (a recent Oscar-nominee for her work on Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet), who signed a deal this past April to work on the film, to meet with actors over the past several weeks to suss out whether any lesser-known names deserve to be added to the list of already prominent performers.
Some of the big names that have been bandied about are British stars like Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner, and Harris Dickinson, who are seen as good fits to play 007. Reports indicate that Amazon MGM plans to start production on the next Bond film sometime in 2027, which means that narrowing the field by this August makes a lot of sense. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is penning the script.
Villeneuve, Pascal, Heyman, Gold, and Knight are all the vanguard of this new era of Bond, marking a definitive shift in the franchise that began once Daniel Craig said goodbye to the role after 2021’s No Time to Die. That film was written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, two veterans of 007, who began working on the franchise more than a quarter of a century ago, on 1999’s The World is Not Enough. Amazon MGM Studios tapped veteran producers Pascal and Heyman to kickstart this thorough process after longtime stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson reached a deal with Amazon, allowing the studio creative control over the franchise.
It’s been a thoughtful, thorough process thus far, and with the creative talent already on board, there’s good reason to feel excited about this next chapter for his Majesty’s most prolific spy.
Featured image: Daniel Craig stars as James Bond in NO TIME TO DIE, an EON Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios film. Credit: Nicola Dove. © 2021 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
