The search for the next James Bond has now begun, with Amazon MGM Studios tapping casting veteran Nina Gold to find a fresh face to play the iconic 007.
“The search for the next James Bond is underway.” Read a statement from the studio. “While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
According to further reports by Variety, the studio has also enlisted the help of casting director Nina Gold in its search, with the 59-year-old well-known in the industry for her keen eye in finding future superstars, previously responsible for the major career breaks of Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
Amazon was previously reported to be tapping Denis Villeneuve (Dune) to direct the next iteration of the long-running James Bond franchise, and at the time, it was looking to cast an actor under the age of 30, with Jacob Elordi (Euphoria), Tom Holland (The MCU’s Spider-Man franchise) and Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man) at the top of the list. This unfortunately ruled out fan-favourite choices like Henry Cavill (The Witcher) and Idris Elba (Luther) due to their age, so it remains to be seen if Gold’s hiring might shake things up.
Interestingly, this search is also extra special this time around, as whoever’s eventually chosen will mark the seventh 007 under Eon Productions, the company responsible for the James Bond franchise since 1962’s Dr. No, which saw Sean Connery take up the mantle as the iconic MI6 agent.
Since then, the character has been portrayed by the likes of George Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Roger Moore (Live and Let Die), Timothy Dalton (Licence to Kill), Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye), and Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace). Outside of Eon, two other actors have also portrayed the role in unofficial productions, including David Niven in the 1967 parody film Casino Royale, and Barry Nelson in the 1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale. On the video game front, Bond is also due for a fresh face, with Irish actor Patrick Gibson (Dexter: Original Sin) set to portray a much younger version of the character in IO Interactive’s upcoming action-adventure 007 First Light.
It might be too early to speculate who the seventh Bond would be, but with Gold at the helm of the search, fans can rest easy knowing the future of 007 is in experienced hands.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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