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Finally, a 'next James Bond' candidate that's plausible

The Independent

|

January 06, 2026

British actor Callum Turner is allegedly 'blabbing all over town' that he's been cast in Denis Villeneuve's super-spy reboot - and there's a chance it's for real

- Adam White

Finally, a 'next James Bond' candidate that's plausible

The alleged “worst-kept secret” in film circles? That the next James Bond will be played by none other than 35-year-old British actor Callum Turner - a man who’s been flying around the world on an endless summer holiday with his pop star fiancee Dua Lipa of late, and who resembles the thinking person's hunk du jour Josh O'Connor, if you squint a bit.

Over the weekend, an unverified report in the Daily Mail (yes, I know) claimed that Turner had been "blabbing all over town" that he's been cast as 007, and that "everyone in his circle is talking about it". They also added that Lipa is being lined up to record the theme song for her boyfriend's Bond debut, a prospect so wincingly cute that it can't possibly be true, surely?

Still, the Turner part isn't too far-fetched. Since Daniel Craig grumped his way through his final Bond movie in 2021, essentially every English, Scottish, Irish or Australian actor between the ages of 25 and 40 has been mooted as a possible replacement. But for all the iffy speculation that it'd be Theo James (at 41, a tad too old), or Jack O'Connell (too interesting, frankly), or Aaron Taylor-Johnson (in the wake of his doomed Marvel vehicle Kraven the Hunter, too much flop-sweat), Turner's is the first name that feels really "right" for this.

imageTo put it bluntly, Turner is famous and busy, but not

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