We may soon have a new actor saying “Commander Bond reporting for MI6 duty.” And it could either be Callum Turner, the star of One Night Only, Green Room and Masters of the Air or Slow Horses star Jack Lowden.
Final screen tests for Amazon MGM Studios’ new 007 took place in the last week of October, Variety reported citing sources close to the development. The news outlet also said that Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor appear to be in the mix for the latest Bond movie, to be directed by Dune fame Denis Villeneuve and written by Steven Knight.
The spy franchise, which was first spearheaded by Sean Connery, followed by George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, set out to find a new lead actor after Craig announced his departure. Craig’s No Time to Die (2021), starring Rami Malek as the antagonist, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris, was his fifth as MI6’s smooth and suave agent and the twenty-fifth overall.
Brosnan’s views, however, gave shape to who could succeed Craig. “Oh, I’m just an audience member now. I’m just the man in the street who is eager to see who is going to play this epic role of cinematic history,” he told Vanity Fair in a recent interview. “All the men who are on the list now are actors I admire. Callum Turner is someone I’ve worked with, and he’s so strong. They all have a voice and a physique, and a presence on film. They all have longevity as actors, all of these young men.”
It is also speculated that should Turner make the cut, his wife Dua Lipa could croon the next Bond song.
In fact, in a 2018 interview to British GQ, she had professed that “she’d love to do the Bond theme tune”.
The star of the Bond films Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day couldn’t contain his excitement at Villeneuve being made the director. “I think we are going to be blown away. [Villeneuve] is such an iconoclastic director,” Brosnan told Vanity Fair. “His work is visionary, and his stealth and imagination of camera work and storytelling is so visceral and sensuous. It’s going to be great. It’s going to be truly magnificent.”
Amazon MGM Studios is yet to publicly comment on the casting.
The other key contender
Meanwhile, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, too, addressed the speculation surrounding his possible casting as the next Bond, saying that the attention is “all very flattering” but maintaining that he does not wish to add to the ongoing discussions about the coveted 007 role.
“It’s nice to be mentioned, for any role, and I’m just not really going to add to the noise,” Lowden, 36, told People magazine.
Lowden also has his fair share of backers. Last month, Gary Oldman tipped him to be the next Bond.
“We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we?” Oldman said during an appearance on Canada’s The Morning Show. “Because they have picked [the next Bond]. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.”
To this, Lowden said he appreciated the support but was not reading too much.
“It’s very nice, and Gary’s a sweetheart. It’s particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don’t really listen to it,” he said.
An exact release for the next Bond film isn’t out yet. Filming is expected to begin in 2027, with the release date slated to be in the following year.
Source: Khaleej Times
