Denis Villeneuve almost named the next James Bond on stage at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday night, then pulled back at the last second and left the room laughing. Villeneuve was being honoured at the museum’s 15th annual Art and Film Gala, alongside the artist Vija Celmins, when he closed his acceptance speech with a joke about the casting of the 26th Bond film. The James Bond tease was the loudest moment of the night.
Villeneuve thanked his new partners at Amazon, which owns the Bond franchise through Amazon MGM Studios, and then paused. “To express my gratitude with the blessing of my new friends at Amazon, I will reveal to you tonight who will be the next James Bond,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The new James Bond is, and I will stop right now because Amy Pascal is about to have a heart attack. Thank you very much.” Pascal is one of the producers of the new film.
The gala audience gasped, then erupted in laughter, according to reports from the night. Villeneuve, 59, is the director of Dune, Dune: Part Two, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, and he was chosen to direct the next Bond film after Daniel Craig ended his five film run as the character in 2021’s No Time to Die. No casting has been officially announced, and Amazon MGM Studios has confirmed nothing about the new leading man.
James Bond casting and the names in the mix
The James Bond casting search has been one of the most closely watched in Hollywood, and Villeneuve’s joke landed because the race is said to be near its end. Reports have put Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O’Connor among the finalists, with Robert Pattinson reported to have screen tested and Nicholas Hoult also said to have come into consideration. None of these names has been confirmed by the studio, and the trades have stressed that the decision is still a closely guarded secret.
Villeneuve gave a small update on the red carpet before the gala, telling Variety that he is having a great time screening actors for the film. He named no one and hinted at no frontrunner. Deadline has reported that a final casting decision could be announced before Thanksgiving on 26 November, and producers have said the new 007 would be unveiled before the end of 2026. Filming is expected to begin in 2027, with some reports pointing to a release in the autumn of 2028.
Villeneuve’s path to Bond ran through a run of large scale films that made him one of the most sought after directors in Hollywood. Dune and Dune: Part Two turned Frank Herbert’s novels into box office hits, Arrival won praise for its restrained take on first contact, and Blade Runner 2049 revived a classic science fiction world. His next film, Dune: Part Three, arrives in cinemas on 18 December, and he will turn to Bond once that work is done. The casting search has been running since spring, and the names linked to it have changed with each new report. The trades have pointed to Turner, Lowden, Josh O’Connor and a fourth unnamed actor as the finalists, and the final round was originally scheduled for early October before the actors’ schedules pushed it back.
James Bond tease and a night about human creativity
The James Bond joke was not the whole speech. Villeneuve paid tribute to Celmins, 88, whose paintings of night skies, desert sands and ocean waves he praised for stopping time long enough for people to truly see it. He also spoke about the pressure on artists from artificial intelligence, and praised human creativity over AI prompts, naming Steven Spielberg and James Cameron among his heroes.
Nicole Kidman introduced Villeneuve at the gala, which was designed to bring Los Angeles film and art communities together and to raise money for the museum. Villeneuve is finishing Dune: Part Three, which arrives in cinemas on 18 December. The James Bond film has no official title or release date yet, and the name Villeneuve almost spoke on Saturday night stays a secret for now.