All 5 Finalists For The Next James Bond, Ranked

Now that Amazon has paid an exorbitant price for the James Bond franchise and made us all wait what seems like an eternity to find out who will play the new 007, it’s almost time for an official announcement. At this point, plenty of names have been bandied about and auditions have been ongoing for some time. Now, however, it looks as though Amazon is preparing to crown a successor to Daniel Craig.

Producers have reportedly whittled prospective James Bond actors down to five finalists, including “Disclosure Day” and “Wake Up Dead Man” star Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner of “Fantastic Beasts” and “Eternity” fame, and Jack Lowden, who plays River Cartwright on the best spy show on TV, “Slow Horses.” The trio are said to have carried out screen tests alongside Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult, though at this point it remains unclear who will actually don the tux and embark on yet another mission for King and country.

But that just means we have time for a bit more speculation ahead of an official announcement. Bearing in mind Craig’s “Casino Royale” casting prompted a major backlash in the early 2000s, before he delivered the greatest James Bond movie ever made, all of this should be taken with a pinch of salt. Nobody can say for sure how well suited an actor is to a role, and whoever is cast will no doubt put their all into bringing England’s greatest spy to life. But Amazon MGM Studios sure are taking their sweet time announcing the next Bond, so in the meantime we might as well rank the frontrunners.

Thus far, Nicholas Hoult has missed out on playing both Batman and Superman, losing the former to fellow Bond contender Robert Pattinson. As talented an actor as he is, if we’re considering him alongside these other candidates, he should probably miss out on Bond, too.

That’s not to say he wouldn’t do a decent job in the role. Hoult has proven himself a versatile performer, delivering memorable turns as villains in both the critically-acclaimed 2024 crime thriller “The Order” and “Superman,” in which he played an intensely odious tech bro Lex Luthor. But there’s just something a bit too boyish about Hoult, and it’s not just the fact he came to prominence as a child actor.

It all depends on what sort of story director Denis Villeneuve has planned for his Bond movie. Perhaps Hoult has exactly what the “Dune” filmmaker is looking for. But in a general sense, not only does the British star seem to lack a bit of the grit required to play a decent 007, he’s also already a well known actor. The best Bonds have all been relative newcomers with a bit of a darkness to them. I’m sure Hoult could manage it, but compared to the other frontrunners, I just don’t see it.

Callum Turner isn’t the most recognizable face among the five Bond finalists, but I think that’s a good thing. What’s more, while he’s yet to deliver a definitive performance and might be seen as perhaps a tad forgettable based on his performances in the “Fantastic Beasts” films, I get the sense that, with 007, Turner could prove the naysayers wrong.

As Idles frontman Joseph Talbot once sang, “I don’t care about the next James Bond / He kills for country, Queen and God / We don’t need another murderous toff.” But what about a murderous spy with a working class background? The best James Bond, Sean Connery, took the long road to acting, having grown up in the working class area of Edinburgh known as Fountainbridge before dropping out of school at 13 and considering a career as a professional soccer player. When he debuted as 007, he was still a little rough around the edges and that served him well in the role.

Turner similarly grew up on a council estate and, oddly enough, was also committed to a soccer career. As such, there’s an authenticity and an edge to the British actor. If Villeneuve can help him capitalize on that, and Turner can find a fresh way to work it into his performance (Connery, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig have all brought a similar roughness to their Bond portrayals) then he could make a great Craig replacement.

At first, Robert Pattinson seems like a bit of a safe choice for Bond. A well-spoken London boy with a middle class upbringing and a string of well-received performances — if Denis Villeneuve and the Amazon MGM producers wanted to play it safe, Pattinson seems like the man. But this is an actor who, over the past decade especially, has consistently proven his ability to completely disappear into a role.

Since giving his most Pattinsonian performance in the Safdie Brothers’ “Good Time,” the actor has shown a particular affinity for playing creepy little weirdos, such as the lascivious Rev. Preston Teagardin in “The Devil All the Time.” But he’s also delivered a compelling, understated turn as the Dark Knight in “The Batman” and an uncanny rendition of “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hanson in “Primetime.” At this point, Pattinson is easily one of the most talented and chameleonic actors working today.

With that in mind, it’s impossible to imagine him dropping the ball with Bond. Pattinson always makes interesting choices and that hasn’t failed him yet. As safe as he might seem on the surface, he could prove to be the biggest wild card of the bunch, and unlike Nicholas Hoult, is much more capable of completely disappearing into a role. That’s a major advantage for anyone taking on Bond, which, coupled with everything else Pattinson could bring to the role, surely makes him one of the most exciting candidates.

Josh O’Connor has all of the makings of a great James Bond, even if they’re not as apparent on the surface. One might look at the star of “Challengers” and assume that he doesn’t have the look to play 007, or that he’s not muscular enough. However, virtually every Bond actor that came before had to live in the shadow of whoever preceded him. The worst thing the producers could do is to just try and replicate Daniel Craig.

Shifting to a guy like O’Connor would be an unexpected move, yet an exciting one. For one, he meets all of the James Bond requirements according to the casting director. He can look like a regular guy and, most importantly, he’s a brilliant actor. He starred alongside Craig in last year’s “Wake Up Dead Man,” alongside some truly phenomenal, established actors, and went toe-to-toe with all of them. So much so that he came out of that film with quite possibly the best performance of them all. That’s no small thing.

O’Connor is also responsible for some of the sexiest moments in “Challengers,” while starring alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist. He can be sexy. He’s a great actor. He’s done action in movies like “Disclosure Day.” He’s also not so famous to have built up a fixed perception among audiences. He can make Bond his own and mold himself into the role, while clearly being a very different actor than the man who went before him. O’Connor is, using history as our guide, right for the job.

“Slow Horses” is one of the best spy shows on TV. While much of that is down to an unforgettable performance from Gary Oldman as the delightfully disheveled Jackson Lamb, as River Cartwright Jack Lowden has quietly been making a case for himself as one of Britain’s best actors.

The Scottish star plays his misfit sleuth with an intriguing mix of world weariness and ambition, crafting a fully realized performance that is one of the best parts of “Slow Horses.” His Season 6 relationship with Olivia Cooke’s Sidonie Baker was one of the most surprisingly affecting aspects of the entire series — a testament to both actors’ talent for convincingly emotional performances. He’s also more than proven he has a razor sharp comedic sense that allows him to nail the sardonic wit of author Mick Herron, which originated in the “Slough House” novels and pervades the Apple TV series adaptation.

Bond is, obviously, a very different character. But Lowden has demonstrated such talent as River, clearly has major potential, and isn’t yet a major A-lister. Add to that his ability to deliver darkly funny dialogue and his naturalistic sensibility which has made River feel so human, and Lowden is surely the most exciting Bond prospect. I’d be fascinated to see what he does as 007, more so than anybody else on this list, and that’s why he’s here at number one.