James Bond 26: a new favorite emerges to play 007

According to the American press, Louis Partridge is currently being considered to take over the job. The 22-year-old Briton would fit perfectly with the production’s desire to drastically rejuvenate 007.

The race for James Bond’s successor continues… and a new name is seriously starting to circulate.

It will almost be a year since we know that Denis Villeneuve will direct the next opus. And while the Canadian filmmaker is still busy with Dune 3, he takes his time before choosing – with Amazon MGM, the new boss of the saga – the name of the new 007. Thus, the rumors are linked at an infernal pace, around the identity of the future agent of his Majesties.

The name of Jacob Elordi came up insistently. Callum Turner’s too. Even that of Harris Dickinson. Without any official announcement confirming anything about Daniel Craig’s heir. But according to Varietya new suitor is emerging at the moment: Louis Partridge would be “currently in the running” to get the role. And the media insists: we would be “beyond the simple fantasy of bookmakers.”

Nothing is signed yet. As is often the case with cinema’s most famous spy, anything that does not come directly from the creative team should be taken with a grain of salt. No draft confirmation from representatives of the actor or the studio. But this rumor is consistent with an underlying trend: the next 007 could be young. Really very young. The term “fresh-faced” is coming back with insistence in the industry according to Variety, and several sources evoke a desire to clearly rejuvenate the character. Henri Cavill also admitted in recent days to having given up chasing the job, because “too old“.

At 22, Louis Partridge would simply become the youngest James Bond in history, even beating George Lazenby – who was 29 during the filming of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

And Louis Partridge ticks a lot of interesting boxes: he’s already a little known to the public, but not too much. Her angel face accompanies Millie Bobby Brown in the saga Enola Holmes from Netflix. He will soon play George Wickham in the Netflix adaptation ofPride and Prejudice. And then he was the companion of American pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo for two years. Which makes him a popular celebrity figure, followed by 8.5 million fans on Instagram. It’s a lot. Much more than Elordi, Turner or Dickinson. And that, today, matters a lot for a studio!

Last detail, and not least: Louis Partridge was recently the star of the Netflix series House of Guinesscreated by Steven Knight (the father of Peaky Blinders)… charged with writing this next James Bond 26! It doesn’t take much to make the young Briton from London a more than credible new candidate for the role.

James Bond 26 does not yet have a release date.