Denis Villeneuve’s Bond 26 Will Cast an “Unknown” British Actor in 007 Origin Story, Shoot Planned for 2027

Deadline is reporting that Denis Villeneuve will begin the search for the next James Bond in 2026, once he wraps production on “Dune: Part Three.”

According to their sources, the director and his collaborators are looking for a “fresh face,” an “unknown,” to step into 007’s tuxedo for Bond 26. They go on to state that the criteria needed to play Bond erases “99.9%” of the names that have been speculated online and by the trades.

One thing is already set in stone: Bond will remain male, as originally written by creator Ian Fleming, and the role will go to a British actor. Sorry, Timothée Chalamet fans.

In fact, almost every name that’s been speculated online, which includes Tom Holland and Harris Dickinson, won’t even be in the running. What the filmmakers want is someone relatively “unknown,” likely in his late twenties to early thirties, a younger actor who fits Fleming’s description of Bond as “a blunt instrument” — lethal, but otherwise unremarkable.

A key factor here is screenwriter Steven Knight, who’s writing Bond 26 for Amazon MGM. With credits that include “Peaky Blinders,” and “Eastern Promises,” Knight has a history of gritty, violent storytelling. One insider says the new Bond needs to look like “he could kill you with his bare hands in a trice” — a clear return to Fleming’s more brutal version of the character.

Sources also indicate that Knight is drawing heavily from Fleming’s earliest novels, which could mean a return to Bond’s Royal Navy background and his rise through MI6 before attaining his “00” status. We could very well have an “origin” story in our hands, and one potentially set in the ‘50s or ‘60s.

Casting, however, won’t begin until Villeneuve is finished with “Dune: Part Three.” Production is expected to kick off in 2027, with a release set for 2028, likely in the traditional November slot that has long been favored for Bond premieres.