Amazon MGM guards the casting of the next James Bond as an announcement nears

Mixed · 2Amazon MGM Studios has not yet announced who will replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, and the casting is being kept tightly under wraps. 1 2 Right · 1The Mail on Sunday reported, citing insiders, that auditions were held at Bray Studios in Berkshire, which it says is owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. Candidates arrived in black Mercedes limousines, with an area reserved for pass-holders and a 'safe room' where bags and phones had to be left outside. 1 Right · 1According to a source quoted by the Mail, audition scripts were scenes from earlier Bond films, printed in a special red ink that could not be copied or photographed, and each carried a unique watermark. A photographer said car windscreens had been treated and gate covers added to block views. 1

Right · 1The Mail said the room included director Denis Villeneuve, casting director Nina Gold, producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, and writer Steven Knight. A two-man crew filmed the screen tests, and the footage was flown by private jet to Hollywood for Bezos and Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, because sending even an encrypted copy online was judged 'too risky'. 1 Mixed · 2The two outlets name different shortlists. The Mail listed Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor, plus an unnamed 'fourth man', as auditioning at the end of October. The Guardian, a few days later, said it is 'widely understood' the shortlist is down to five: Turner, Lowden, O’Connor, Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. Neither report is confirmed by Amazon. 1 2 Right · 1An Amazon source told the Mail that Bezos has insisted the new Bond be British. The paper reported that Turner had moved ahead of Lowden as favourite, partly because he and his wife, the singer Dua Lipa, are seen as a 'power couple' who could generate social media attention. 1

Right · 1The Mail said filming of 'Bond 26' is due to start next spring, with a worldwide release expected in November 2028, and that a studio source expected an Amazon statement before the end of the year. 1 Mixed · 2Both outlets give the background that Amazon bought the franchise from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson for a reported $1bn or more. The Guardian adds that Amazon has hired Steven Knight to write and Denis Villeneuve to direct. 1 2 Left · 1The Guardian focuses on how the announcement itself is handled, and on past mishaps. Craig's 2005 unveiling, with a Royal Marine speedboat ride on the Thames and a lifejacket, was ridiculed, and Craig later called it 'a fucking train wreck … I was terrified'. A senior film publicist told the Guardian the event was hastily arranged because of a significant leak. 2

Left · 1The Guardian says Amazon may skip the traditional press call and announce the new Bond on social media, though the publicist quoted said they would like to see 'a good old-fashioned Bond press conference'. 2