Pierce Brosnan backs Callum Turner as favourite to be next James Bond

Brosnan backs Turner

Former James Bond Pierce Brosnan has publicly endorsed Callum Turner as the favourite to succeed Daniel Craig. In a new Vanity Fair interview, Brosnan, 73, recalled playing 007 in four films, from GoldenEye in 1995 to Die Another Day in 2002. He and Turner, 36, appeared together in the 2017 drama The Only Living Boy in New York, where Turner played Brosnan's son. Brosnan praised every name on the shortlist and said all of them are actors he admires, but he singled out Turner as someone he has worked with. He described himself as an ordinary member of the audience now and said he looks forward to seeing the work of director Denis Villeneuve.

Brosnan told the magazine:

“Callum is someone I've worked with, and he's so strong.”

Odds shift and the shortlist

William Hill has cut the odds on Turner being named the next Bond from 3/1 to 8/13, which makes him the bookmaker's favourite. Jack Lowden, who had been the favourite, is now quoted at 2/1, while Josh O'Connor has moved to 9/2. Richard Madden, Robert Pattinson and Joe Alwyn are each listed at 16/1. According to Deadline, final screentests were to take place in London at the end of October, with Turner, Lowden and O'Connor among the candidates. Insiders, as reported, said three to five actors were invited to the last auditions. Lowden told GQ that the links to the role were flattering and that he would not add to the noise.

On Tuesday, 3 November, O'Connor sought to play down the speculation while acknowledging it, telling the BBC:

“To be considered in that same sort of bracket is extraordinary.”

Turner's business move and the weekend

Turner reportedly resigned as director of Twentytwo Films Ltd, the production company he founded in August 2025 with his wife, the musician Dua Lipa. The news surfaced over the weekend of 31 October and 1 November, and it prompted speculation that his film priorities may now lie elsewhere. On Saturday, 31 October, the couple posted photographs of themselves dressed for Halloween and sipping martinis, the signature cocktail of the British spy. Turner was reportedly seen at Bray Studios in Berkshire for a screentest on Friday, 30 October.

Official position and unconfirmed claims

Denis Villeneuve, the director of Arrival and Dune, is directing the film, the 26th in the series, with Steven Knight writing the script. Amazon MGM has officially said only that the search for the new 007 actor is continuing. Producer Amy Pascal has said the news is likely to be revealed by the end of the year, but it is not known how imminent the announcement is. Columnist Roger Friedman of Showbiz411 has claimed that Turner has already been cast, a claim he has not sourced and that no official body has confirmed. Friedman is regarded as a good source in the industry, having first reported Daniel Craig's casting.

The candidates and the timeline

Turner, who was born in London on 15 February 1990, is best known to wide audiences as Theseus Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts films. He began his career as a model and has also appeared in Emma (2020), The Boys in the Boat (2023) and Apple's series Masters of the Air. Lowden is known for Slow Horses, and hints from Gary Oldman had also given him momentum in recent reporting. The sequence of recent events is shown below.

The studio has not confirmed any casting, so the outcome remains open until an announcement is made.