As the hunt for the actor who will take over as the new James Bond continues, two surprise names have emerged as possible candidates: Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult.
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names → take → candidates
After rumours swirled that four actors were in the mix, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Variety got word that Pattinson and Hoult also screen-tested last month.
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Pattinson → swirl → word
Thanks to his roles in the Twilight franchise, the Batman films and a part in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pattinson is one of the most globally recognized actors.
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Pattinson → recognize → actors
But he is also an actor who has become a favourite of auteurs like Robert Eggers, the Safdie brothers and Christopher Nolan.
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who → become → Eggers
Giving him a possible slight advantage, Pattinson has also worked with Bond director Denis Villeneuve on Dune: Part 3, due out next month.
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Pattinson → give → Dune
Speaking at an event to promote the third instalment in Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s celebrated science fiction novels back in March, Pattinson called the film “a towering achievement.”
“When you see the scope and the scale and ambition of these movies on set, you get why they feel like that on the screen … it’s extraordinary,” he said.
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he → speak → screen
Meanwhile, Hoult, who was a runner-up to Pattinson to play Batman and currently stars as Lex Luthor in DC’s latest Superman movies, has ties to the studio producing the new Bond films with a role in Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming action comedy, How to Rob a Bank.
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who → play → Bank
Speaking at a LACMA fundraiser in Los Angeles Saturday night, Villeneuve wouldn’t comment on the casting speculation, but he did tell Variety he’s “having a great time.”
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he → speak → time
Villeneuve was named as the director for the 26th Bond movie last year.
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Villeneuve → name → movie
It will be the first in over two decades not to star Daniel Craig, who played 007 five times.
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who → star → 007
Has the next Bond already been cast?
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Bond → cast → ?
Shortly before the surprise reveal that Pattinson and Hoult have entered the fray to play Bond, the U.K. Sun published a report that Josh O’Connor, an actor best known for playing Prince Charles in Netflix’s The Crown, had already been cast.
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O’Connor → enter → Crown
A source told the publication that they struck up a conversation with one of O’Connor’s castmates from the stage production Golden Boy.
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they → tell → production
“Out of nowhere, and oiled by a few glasses of lager, they blurted out that Josh was the next James Bond,” the source said.
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source → oil → lager
They alleged that O’Connor had confided the news to the cast during celebratory drinks following the final performance of Golden Boy on Halloween.
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O’Connor → allege → Halloween
In an interview with the BBC last week, O’Connor said it was “an incredibly bizarre, pinch-me moment … even being uttered in that same sentence and being considered for something like that.”
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it → say → that
“To be considered in that same sort of bracket is extraordinary,” O’Connor said.
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O’Connor → consider → bracket
Elsewhere, Jack Lowden said it’s “flattering” that he’s in contention for Bond.
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he → say → Bond
“It’s nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I’m just not really going to add to the noise,” Lowden said in a recent interview with British GQ.
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Lowden → ’ → GQ
He also responded to getting a stamp of approval from his Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman, who backed the actor in an interview with Global’s Morning Show earlier this summer.
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who → respond → Show
“It’s very nice, and Gary’s a sweetheart – it’s particularly lovely, coming from someone like him.
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it → ’ → him
But I don’t really listen to it,” Lowden said.
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Lowden → listen → it
Meanwhile, Pierce Brosnan, who played the suave British spy in four Bond films from 1995 to 2002, endorsed Callum Turner to take over as 007.
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who → play → 007
“Callum Turner is someone I’ve worked with, and he’s so strong,” Brosnan told Vanity Fair.
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Brosnan → work → Fair
Brosnan wasn’t sure that any one actor had the edge, but said the next actor to play Bond will have his full support.
“Whoever plays the role, I wish him the very best of life and strength and courage.
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I → have → life
You know, it’s hard to tell who it would be, but I eagerly await to hear the news and the celebration of the next James Bond,” he said.
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he → know → Bond
Cary Joji Fukunaga, who directed Craig’s final outing as the British spy in 2021’s No Time to Die, told Postmedia that whoever gets the role will have “some very big shoes to fill.”
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gets → direct → shoes
“I think it’s going to be a tricky decision,” he said at the time.
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he → think → time
“There’s a lot of scrutiny over it, and we’re all aware of that.
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we → ’ → that
I just feel lucky I don’t have to make that decision.”
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I → feel → decision
- 'Dune: Part Three' trailer reveals 17-year time jump and Robert Pattinson's villain
- Pierce Brosnan backs Callum Turner as James Bond: 'He's so strong'
- Bond director Cary Fukunaga on 'No Time to Die' and why audiences loved Daniel Craig
- Pierce Brosnan recalls Quentin Tarantino's drunk pitch to take over James Bond
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Brosnan → reveal → Bond