Amazon Has Apparently Zeroed In On Three Actors For James Bond And They're All Terrible Choices

Now that Amazon has tapped Denis Villeneuve as the franchise’s next director, the pace is about to accelerate significantly on the 26th outing of James Bond. Even still, Amazon is looking at a 2028 release date for Bond 26. Anything sooner would be impossible to pull off, given the film’s scale, sources say.

Insiders say that the studio and producers are interested in casting a British actor under the age of 30, with Jacob Elordi (“Saltburn”), Tom Holland (“Spider-Man”) and Harris Dickinson (“Babygirl”) at the top of the list. (Elordi is Australian, but that would not be a deal-breaker as far as Amazon is concerned; remember Aussie George Lazenby starred in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”) While there has been speculation that Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Henry Cavill would be possible heirs to Craig, they are 35 and 42, respectively, and thus unlikely to fit the mandate. So, too, is fan-favorite Idris Elba, 52, who has ducked Bond speculation for years. (No meetings have happened at this stage.)

To me, James Bond needs to satisfy a few requirements:

1. Obviously, you gotta be hot. Like I said in my last Bond blog, the character is the definition of "Women want him, men want to be him". So you gotta be a smoke and specifically an old-school handsome type of smoke. 

2. You need to have some body of work that proves you can work in this type of role. That could mean action, espionage, crime or something of that nature. 

3. You need to have an X-factor as far as charisma goes. Something next level that is mysterious, almost smokey and unobtainable. An ability to be wry without coming off as annoying. He needs to come off like he is better than you and you have to believe it instead of being turned off by it. 

When I think of those requirements and I hear the names Jacob Elordi, Tom Holland and Harris Dickinson, I want to put my head through a wall. Besides being young to the point of still looking like borderline teens, none of them are the right fit. 

Tom Holland has essentially built his entire career off being a lovable scamp. That's just what Peter Parker is and it's why Holland is perfect for the role. Pretty much every other attempt he has made outside of the MCU has been....shaky at best. The closest fit I think you can get from his filmography here is 'Uncharted', where is is far from the worst casting (Marky Mark). But he was also not strong in that role at the elements that might make him a good Bond. He's not a cocksman and I don't think I'll ever believe that he is. He has resting boyfriend face and thats ok. 

Jacob Elordi, to me, feels like the Amazon executives put "Who is a hot actor under 30 that women will go to the theaters for" and he was the first result. Does he have the look? Not really. He has the tiktok popular hyper-angular face. Does he have the body of work in the genre? Also no. Does he have the x-factor? Out of these three, he is certainly the closest by a huge margin. But still, not the right fit. 

Harris Dickinson is a painting of an 18th century British lord who died of consumption come to life. 

Like Elordi, he has the angular tiktok face. Like Holland, he has some experience in the genre with 'The King's Man'. Also like Holland, he was not a good fit in the role. He had replaced Taron Egerton as the primary protagonist, and he made Egerton look like Rico Suave by comparison. Does he have the X-factor? No. Like I said, he is a human painting. 

And to be very clear, all three of these actors are fantastic. In fact, I would say that they are all better actors than a majority of the actors who have played Bond including Brosnan and Connery. But you do not need to be a good actor to play Bond. These three picks are, to me, simply 4 quadrant actors that an algorithm told Amazon executives will sell tickets. 

ICYMI, Gooch and I broke down the news that Denis Villeneuve is directing James Bond and we gave our tops picks for Bond, M, Q and villains.