The James Bond casting search is moving forward, although Denis Villeneuve remains determined not to provide the internet with one usable syllable. At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art+Film Gala on Saturday, the director declined to address reports about potential 007 actors while confirming that, at least personally, he is enjoying the process.
“I should not comment right now because every word I’m going to say is going to be scrutinized,” Villeneuve said on the red carpet. “I would just say that I’m having a great time.”
Inside the gala, he briefly pretended to abandon that caution. Villeneuve told guests that, with the blessing of his “new friends at Amazon,” he would reveal the next Bond. After a dramatic pause, he stopped because producer Amy Pascal was “about to have a heart attack.” It was a joke, and the global intelligence community remains without an answer.
Who has actually tested to play 007?
The casting picture became slightly clearer on November 9, when Variety reported that Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult had screen-tested for the role. Harry Styles has reportedly held discussions, while Theo James has not been ruled out. Amazon MGM declined to comment, and no actor has been announced.
Earlier reporting said final tests were beginning in late October under casting director Nina Gold. Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor were identified as leading contenders. The Guardian also reported that all three had tested, while describing Turner as the bookmakers’ favorite and placing Pattinson much further back in the speculative rankings.
That distinction matters. Reports have alternately described Pattinson, Hoult, Turner, O’Connor and Lowden as finalists or rumored contenders. The latest information supports an active search, not a confirmed five-man shortlist handed down from headquarters.
The wider field also complicates reports that Amazon MGM wanted a younger actor to begin a long run as Bond. Pattinson, Hoult and Styles are already established franchise names, while James is 41. Apparently even a tightly defined casting strategy can become flexible once famous actors enter the room.
Pattinson has another advantage: he is currently working with Villeneuve on Dune: Part Three. That gives the director a recent view of how he handles a major production, although it does not amount to a license to kill, or even a second audition.
What have the contenders said?
The actors linked to Bond have mostly responded with the expected mixture of gratitude and strategic silence.
Josh O’Connor told the BBC that simply being considered was an “incredibly bizarre pinch me moment.” Jack Lowden called the attention “all very flattering” in an interview with British GQ, but said he would not “add to the noise.” That is sensible, given that the noise already has its own supporting cast.
Former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan offered a more direct endorsement of Callum Turner, telling Vanity Fair that Turner is “so strong.” Brosnan also predicted audiences would be “blown away” by Villeneuve’s film.
Gary Oldman briefly suggested that a decision had already been made, then clarified that he had only heard a rumor. He said he hoped Lowden would get the role. So far, that remains a preference rather than classified information.
Anya Taylor-Joy, who attended the LACMA gala, has worked with four reported candidates: Pattinson, Hoult, O’Connor and Turner. She declined to choose among them, praising all four as colleagues who had taken good care of her on previous films.
“I’m excited to see who it’s going to be,” she said. Taylor-Joy also predicted that Villeneuve would bring particular skill to the action sequences after his work on the Dune films.
Why this Bond film marks a major reset
Villeneuve’s movie will be the 26th official James Bond installment and the first since Amazon MGM took creative control of the franchise in 2025. Longtime custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson had overseen the series before that transfer.
Steven Knight is writing the screenplay. Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing, with Villeneuve’s wife and producing partner Tanya Lapointe serving as executive producer.
The new film must also introduce the first Bond after Daniel Craig, who ended a five-film, 15-year tenure with No Time to Die in 2021. Replacing any long-serving lead would attract scrutiny. Replacing Bond after a corporate change in creative control guarantees several additional layers of it.
Villeneuve is handling that assignment while completing Dune: Part Three, scheduled for release on December 18, 2026. He described the film as deeply personal and the conclusion of 10 years spent working in the deserts of Arrakis.
“It’s also the project that is the completion of 10 years of work in the deep desert,” he said, calling the experience “the privilege of a lifetime.” He is currently finishing the 70mm IMAX print while beginning work on Bond, because one enormous franchise at a time would apparently be too restful.
What Villeneuve said about filmmaking and AI
Villeneuve used his LACMA speech to discuss more than secret agents and sand. He recalled visiting a James Turrell exhibition at the museum while preparing Arrival, and said the experience helped him understand how to direct the 2016 science-fiction film.
The filmmaker also described cinema as his first meaningful contact with English while growing up in Quebec. Unable to understand the dialogue, he concentrated on images and imagined what the characters were saying. That early experience shaped a career built around visual storytelling, from Incendies and Prisoners to Sicario, Arrival and Dune.
Turning to artificial intelligence, Villeneuve drew a firm distinction between generating material with a prompt and making a film with actors and a crew in a real location.
“I can create something with a prompt,” he said. “Or I can go into the desert with actors, with a crew, and go on a real adventure where I learn about life and become better at my craft. Those are two different things.”
He acknowledged that the human version costs more, a detail studios may already have noticed. Still, Villeneuve argued that the process matters as much as the finished work.
“In this moment in time, it is more important than ever that human beings keep making art together,” he said. “That is the heritage I want to leave to my children.”
How Hollywood saluted Villeneuve
Nicole Kidman flew 15 hours from Australia to present Villeneuve’s honor, despite never having worked with him. She joked about being nervous before explaining that his films helped inspire her AMC Theatres campaign encouraging audiences to return to cinemas.
Kidman said she felt she knew the director through his work, which explores time, memory, identity and destiny. She recalled attending an 11 p.m. screening of Dune and promised to return for Dune: Part Three.
“I will always be one of your audience,” she told him.
Timothée Chalamet also attended, while Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Chloé Zhao, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Hans Zimmer and Mary Parent appeared in a tribute reel. Villeneuve called Spielberg his childhood hero and praised Cameron as a filmmaker ahead of his time, while lightly hoping Cameron’s Terminator prediction about self-aware artificial intelligence proves inaccurate.
Viola Davis, who worked with Villeneuve on Prisoners, called him one of the greatest directors she had encountered. Taylor-Joy praised his ability to make collaborators feel part of something larger without making anyone feel small.
What the record LACMA gala raised
Villeneuve shared the evening’s honors with artist Vija Celmins. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art said more than 600 guests attended and the gala raised nearly $7 million, surpassing the roughly $6.5 million record set in 2025.
Celmins said Los Angeles and its proximity to the ocean and landscape had strongly influenced her work. She also surveyed the formal crowd and declared, “You guys are just crazy party people,” which was probably the most economical assessment of the evening.
Art+Film Gala co-chair Eva Chow announced that she was stepping down after 15 years. Chow, who co-chaired the event with Leonardo DiCaprio, said the gala had raised close to $60 million for LACMA since its launch. Gucci has served as presenting sponsor since 2011.
Guests included Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Salma Hayek Pinault, Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, Julia Garner, Sarah Paulson, Quinta Brunson, Parker Posey and Paris Hilton. Rosé closed the event with a four-song set featuring the live debut of “New Trick,” followed by “Number One Girl,” a cover of The Killers’ “Read My Mind” and “APT.”
The gala produced a fundraising record, a major career tribute and a carefully engineered Bond fake-out. The identity of the next 007, less helpfully, remains under wraps.
