Well, we know that James Bond 26 (for lack of a better name at the moment) won't be released on the 2026 movie schedule, and we also know it won't be part of the 2027 schedule, either. However, in September 2026 we got a very enticing report about who the next James Bond actor will be, and it just might be someone you're not familiar with (much more on that below).
We still don't know a whole lot, but stick with us here. We're here to do our best to update everything we know about the future of the franchise, and specifically the next film, now that the Broccoli family has ceded control to Amazon after their billion-dollar deal to sell the rights to the character and the franchise. We'll start with what we definitely know and then get into some of the rumors.
Denis Villeneuve Will Direct James Bond 26
One big thing we definitely know is that the next James Bond movie will be helmed by director Denis Villeneuve. In June 2025, Amazon announced that the Canadian director will begin working on Bond 26 as soon as he finishes up on another sequel in a now-iconic franchise, Dune: Part Three. That movie officially wrapped filming in November and dropped its first trailer in March 2026, though there is certainly a lot of post-production work that will go into the epic before its release date in December.
Having Villeneuve on board is a promising first step for the new era of James Bond films. He's a director who knows his way around a beloved literary hero, as he's shown with the Dune franchise, and he's worked on films with huge budgets. He's also a fantastic director, with modern classics under his belt like Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and Prisoners.
Bond 26 Will Be Written By Peaky Blinders Creator Steven Knight
Not only does Bond 26 have a heavyweight director, but it’ll be written by the creator of Peaky Blinders and House of Guinness, both of which you can watch now with a Netflix subscription, including the latest Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. It’s another comfort to know that the martini-loving Bond will have solid writing behind him, although some of the rumors point to an origin story, which, if I’m honest, I’m not super psyched about (more on that later). However, I will trust that Knight will get the story right, whatever it is.
As for what Knight is writing, we got a little, tiny peek into his thoughts when he told Variety in March 2026:
I mean, I can’t give any details, obviously, but I’m loving it. It’s so much fun.
In a recent interview with ScreenDaily, Knight talked about what makes Bond so iconic, telling the outlet:
Bond has been bulletproof. People have been able to make mistakes and variations, quite elaborate variations, and the character has survived because the core of it is like a diamond. You can’t touch it. The person you are talking about is folklore.
Knight also said that he felt like, because of that, he could re-invent the character, which leans more into the rumor that the next Bond film is an origin story, but more on that later.
Who Will Play James Bond? How About The Rest Of The Cast?
In September 2026, we got an interesting report from PageSix. We've known for some time that auditions and screen tests for the next James Bond have been going on for a little while now. According to the new report, the list has been narrowed to a handful of hopefuls. The list is mostly A-listers who we've talked about before here, including Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Jack Lowden, Paul Mescal, and Harris Dickinson. PageSix also claims that one name has emerged as a favorite: Jack Barton.
Who you might be asking? Barton is best known for his roles in Netflix's rom-com series Heartstopper and BBC's SAS: Rogue Heroes. Though we'll forgive you if you still don't recognize him from those roles, as they are both very much supporting roles. He also had a very small part in Poor Things. It's worth noting that SAS: Rogue Heroes was created by Stephen Knight, who is penning James Bond 26. He's also younger than most of the others who are often cited as favorites, like Turner and Elordi.
Some recent news seems to indicate that it could be a younger, unknown actor who takes on the role. According to one report at least, Villeneuve and Co. are looking to revamp absolutely everything. A new spy, a new era. There are also those rumors that the story will be more of an origin story, a pre-007 Bond, possibly during his recruitment from the Royal Navy. That age lines up with an actor like Jack Barton.
There have been a ton of rumors as to who will be the next super spy in the series over the last few years. Names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and Timothée Chalamet are just a few that have been tossed around as possible successors to the Craig Era. Those names all seem to be out of the mix at this point.
As of July 2026, Turner still seemed to be the most popular guess. Turner was the favorite on the prediction market Kalshi, but as of early September 2026, Jack Lowden has become the favorite for the role. As a huge fan of Slow Horses, this is definitely a choice I can get behind. Could it be down to Lowden and Barton? I can't wait to find out.
What About The Next Bond Girl
As for the rest of the cast, like M, Moneypenny, Q, and even who the next “Bond Girl” could be, well, those are all questions that we’ll likely see answered after Bond is named. It will probably be a few more months before there is any news at all. I'm hesitant to even speculate on those. That said, as of September 2026, Kalshi predicts Sydney Sweeney as the next Bond Girl at 22%, behind Margaret Qualley at 29%, but ahead of Anya Taylor-Joy (20%).
Frankly, I think that all the rumors are just that, rumors, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if none of these rumors come true.
What Will Bond 26 Be About?
As I've stated, this could be an origin story. That has been a major rumor surrounding the film for a few months now, as I write this in January 2026. A lot of the casting rumors (which, again, should be taken with a grain of salt) have focused on actors in their 20s, which would make sense for a young James Bond, perhaps still in the Navy, before joining MI6.
While it's not what I want to see, as it's a character the world is very familiar with, it does make some sense. This is a new era of Bond in every way, from the producers on down, and so taking it back to the beginning seems natural. We did get the hint of an origin story in the first film of the Daniel Craig era, Casino Royale, but these rumors suggest it would go much further back than that film did.
I would much rather see an approach like James Gunn took with Superman in 2025. Superman, like Bond, isn't a character we need to be reintroduced to. However, I'll be so thrilled when Bond does return, and I trust the creative team, that I'll be fine whatever direction they take the next movie.
What Is Bond 26’s Release Date?
The final big question, and perhaps the biggest, is when will the movie hit the big screen? Villeneuve has wrapped shooting on the final installment of his Dune trilogy, which is scheduled to be released in December. How post-production will take on Dune: Part Three is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to assume that the earliest Villeneuve might get started on Bond is at least a ways away at this point. Deadline has reported that production will likely start sometime in 2027.
What does that mean for the release date? Unfortunately for us Bond fans, it means sometime in 2028 is probably the earliest we’ll see the spy with a license to kill on the big screen again. That means it’ll officially be the longest delay between James Bond movies, as No Time To Die came out in 2021. That honor is currently held by the roughly six years between License to Kill and Goldeneye, as well as Spectre and No Time to Die.
So, it’s going to be a while, but there are still 25 previous Bond films to enjoy with a Prime subscription. James Bond 26 will be huge, so as we learn more, we’ll keep updating this with all the latest news.
