Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News
· collected 2026-09-04 · by Nell Geraets, Elizabeth Flux, Garry Maddox, Kerrie O'Brien, Louise Rugendyke, Debbie Cuthbertson
The article discusses speculation about who will play James Bond after Daniel Craig's departure from the role five years ago. Six actors are reportedly in contention: Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Jack Barton, and Jacob Elordi. The article features opinions from members of the publication's Culture team, including Nell Geraets' suggestion that Callum Turner would be a good fit for the role due to his British charm and looks.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
It has been the question on everyone’s mind since Daniel Craig hung up his tux five years ago: who will be the next James Bond?
asserted
who → hang → tux
Denis Villeneuve, director of the upcoming Bond film, has reportedly managed to whittle it down to a few top contenders.
uncertain
Villeneuve → manage → contenders
There are six in the running, if Page Six is to be believed – Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Jack Barton and Australia’s Jacob Elordi – who have already auditioned for the coveted role.
asserted
who → be → role
Or maybe Amazon MGM, which recently bought the Bond franchise from the Broccoli family, could go in an entirely new direction and pick a woman.
uncertain
which → buy → woman
All we know for certain is that, whatever decision the producers make, it will be a massive deal.
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it → know → decision
With the final result shrouded in mystery, members of this masthead’s Culture team round up their top – and most unhinged – guesses about who could become the next Bond.
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who → shroud → guesses
Ian Fleming surely manifested Callum Turner from beyond the grave.
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Fleming → manifest → grave
He’s British, tall (but not bizarrely so), effortlessly charming and has impeccable bone structure.
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He → ’ → structure
His endearing ears then offer the je ne sais quoi – that zest that sets him apart, just as every 007 agent should.
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agent → offer → him
And bonus points if his wife, pop sensation Dua Lipa, cameos as one of the new Bond girls.
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wife → cameo → girls
Surely, everyone would love to see her walk out of the ocean in slow motion.
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her → love → motion
Elba has made it abundantly clear he won’t be the next 007, going so far as to say some audiences simply aren’t ready for a black Bond, and that we shouldn’t “try and make it woke”.
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it → make → Bond
But despite his protestations, I still think Elba would be the perfect new superspy.
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Elba → think → protestations
From Beast and Luther to the Fast & Furious franchise, he’s proved himself a worthy action actor with a penchant for grit.
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himself → prove → grit
There’s probably no room in the world he couldn’t command, particularly with that deep, gravelly voice of his.
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he → ’ → his
And even if he’s not into the idea, a black Bond could help update a franchise, born in the 1950s, otherwise at risk of going stale.
uncertain
Bond → ’ → risk
Blanchett’s piercing, unyielding gaze and her sharp wit would make for a wonderful secret agent.
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gaze → make → agent
Her intoxicatingly charming voice alone has the licence to kill.
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voice → have → licence
Though some believe she would make a fabulous master villain instead, her natural elegance and icy sophistication scream Bond.
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elegance → believe → Bond
I don’t care how tall Jacob Elordi is, he ain’t my Bond.
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he → care → ?
I enjoy him as an actor (I didn’t even hate “Wuthering Heights”), but 007 cannot be a “pretty boy”.
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007 → enjoy → Heights
His energy is too youthful, “boy band” and quasi-intellectual to be considered a solid superspy.
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energy → consider → ?
He lacks the suave charm needed to blend into a room while somehow also commanding it.
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He → lack → it
I also see his face and immediately think of Nate from Euphoria – more villain than hero.
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I → see → hero
I like my Bond rugged, not pristine.
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Bond → like → ?
Lowden showed his best failed-spy-makes-good chops in Slow Horses, and his interest in history in the BBC’s War & Peace, which launched him into global fame.
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which → show → fame
He’s a great actor and, particularly for die-hard Ian Fleming fans, fits the bill perfectly.
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He → ’ → bill
He would also bring a vulnerability not often explored in Bond – before Daniel Craig at least – so that would shake things up nicely.
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that → bring → things
Paapa Essiedu
I May Destroy You – about consent, trauma and recovery – and Falling, in which he plays a priest struggling with his vocation and alcoholism, he started his career in theatre.
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he → destroy → theatre
At 36, Essiedu has played a hip-hopping Hamlet (for the Royal Shakespeare Company), won an Olivier Award (for his role in All My Sons) and will take on Severus Snape in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter remake.
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Essiedu → play → remake
Nailing 007 would be a cinch.
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Nailing → nail → 007
Who’s your wildcard?
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wildcard → ’ → ?
Asked recently about the rumours she wishes were true about herself, Gillian Anderson told Elle she would love to take on 007.
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she → ask → 007
“I’d still have a gun … and I’d be a great collector of women,” she quipped.
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she → have → women
Having made her mark as FBI special agent Dana Scully in The X-Files, playing a spy is no stretch; she would just be swapping teams across the ditch and using a British accent.
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she → make → accent
She grew up between the US and Britain, and that gorgeously cultured voice is part of her DNA; the perennial twinkle in her eye would also prove an asset in a stunning reimagining of the role.
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twinkle → grow → role
One of few contenders for the iconic role who has shown his hand about being keen, Holland told Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast a few years ago he would be mad for it.
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he → show → it
“Ultimately, as a young British lad who loves cinema, I’d love to be James Bond.
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I → love → cinema
I’m just putting that out there,” the 30-year-old said.
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old → put → that
“I look pretty good in a suit.”
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I → look → suit
…and 44 more, not listed.
