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The race to become the next James Bond just got its biggest surprise yet. Robert Pattinson, 40, has screen-tested to play 007, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter — putting Batman himself in the running for the other most famous hero in a tuxedo. The tests took place in London over the weekend of October 24, and Pattinson is now one of five actors reported to be in the mix for the role Daniel Craig left behind.
Nothing is decided yet. Amazon MGM Studios has not commented, no actor has been confirmed, and the names circulating are reported contenders, not an official shortlist. But the Pattinson news changes the shape of the race entirely — because until this week, the conventional wisdom said the next Bond would not be a star this famous.
Who Has Screen-Tested for James Bond?
Pattinson joins three actors who have been at the center of the Bond chatter for months: Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, and Josh O'Connor. Turner, known for the Fantastic Beasts films and Masters of the Air, Lowden, a standout of Slow Horses, and O'Connor, who played Prince Charles in The Crown and starred in Challengers, were the three names that had surfaced when The Hollywood Reporter first reported that four, possibly five actors were in the mix. Pattinson is the mystery name that report left unrevealed — and he is not the only one. Nicholas Hoult is also now surfacing as a contender, according to the report.
Hoult's name adds a twist of its own. He played Lex Luthor in last year's Superman, and he was the runner-up to Pattinson for Batman years ago, when Matt Reeves was casting The Batman. Now the two of them may be competing again — this time for the license to kill. Variety has also reported that Harry Styles held talks about the role, though he is not among the names said to have screen-tested.
Why Robert Pattinson as Bond Would Break the Rules
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| credit: Elena Ternovaja |
For decades, the unwritten rule of Bond casting has been that the part goes to an actor on the way up, not one already at the top. Sean Connery was a working actor, not a star, when he got the role. Daniel Craig was a respected character actor, not a household name, when he was announced in October 2005 — 21 years ago this month. As The Hollywood Reporter puts it, conventional wisdom has been that the next man to get the license to kill would not be a globally recognized star like Pattinson, one of the biggest actors of his age cohort, and already the face of DC Studios' Batman franchise. The trade's own answer to that objection: while conventional wisdom goes against a world famous Bond, these are unprecedented times in the franchise.
The franchise part is the real complication. Pattinson is currently filming The Batman Part II in London — the same city where the Bond screen tests have been taking place — and he is the face of DC's Batman franchise. Playing Bond as well would make him the lead of two of the biggest franchises in movies at the same time, a workload and a branding collision no actor has attempted before. On the other hand, he has an advantage none of the other reported contenders can match: he has already worked with the man who will direct the next Bond film.
Pattinson teamed with Denis Villeneuve on the upcoming Dune: Part Three, which opens December 18, and the collaboration is said to have gone well for the two men. Villeneuve, the director of Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and the Dune films, is directing the 26th Bond movie. A director who already knows what an actor can do — and liked what he saw — is a powerful edge in a casting race.
Then there is the resume. Pattinson is described by The Hollywood Reporter as a favorite of auteurs including Robert Eggers, the Safdie brothers, and Christopher Nolan — and Nolan's 2020 spy movie Tenet, the trade notes, might feel like a Bond audition in hindsight. Pattinson broke out in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before global fame in Twilight, and he is said to be in the biggest year of his career, with a key role in Nolan's The Odyssey, as co-lead of A24's hit The Drama, and anchoring A24's Primetime. That is not the profile of a typical Bond newcomer. It is the profile of an actor who does not need the part — which, paradoxically, may be exactly why the part is interested in him.
What We Know About the Next Bond Movie
The 26th Bond film will be the first made under Amazon MGM Studios' creative control. Amazon bought out the creative rights from the Broccoli family in February 2025, ending the stewardship of longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who had guided the franchise for decades. Producers on the new film are Amy Pascal, of the Spider-Man films, and David Heyman, of Harry Potter. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is reported to be writing the screenplay, and production is expected to begin in 2027, with the role believed to be cast before the end of this year. No plot details have been revealed, and no cast members have been officially confirmed.
The stakes are enormous. Craig retired after five films, ending with 2021's No Time to Die, and the franchise's first and only $1 billion hit was 2012's Skyfall. Whoever takes the role inherits a series that has to prove it can still be the biggest thing in movies under new ownership — and the choice of Bond is the single decision that will define that attempt.
What Happens Next in the James Bond Casting Race
Screen tests are usually one of the last steps before a casting choice, so an announcement could be close. But nothing in the reporting says a decision has been made. The five names — Pattinson, Turner, Lowden, O'Connor, and Hoult — are reported contenders, and Amazon has said nothing. In May 2026, when the casting process first kicked off, the official 007 website and the studio said the search for the next James Bond was underway, adding that they did not plan to comment on specific details during the casting process.
That silence is worth remembering. The Pattinson report is the biggest twist in the race so far, but it is still a report — sourced, detailed, and consistent across outlets, but not an announcement. The next Bond will be named when Amazon says so, and until then, the most interesting question in Hollywood is whether the franchise is really ready to hand its most famous role to a man who already wears another mask.
Sources
Borys Kit and Aaron Couch, "James Bond Surprise: Robert Pattinson Screen Tested to Play 007," The Hollywood Reporter, November 6, 2026. CBR, "James Bond Casting Report Reveals Robert Pattinson Screen Tested for 007," November 6, 2026. TheWrap, "Batman as Bond? Robert Pattinson Screen Tested for 007 Role," November 6, 2026. Consequence, "Robert Pattinson Emerges As Candidate to Play James Bond," November 6, 2026.
