With a well-sourced insider touting Robert Pattinson as the new James Bond, is the race all but over for other contenders vying to play the famous British spy?
The race for Bond
The James Bond casting process has been drawn out, to say the least.
Screen tests have occurred in recent weeks, with Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor named as auditionees.
At one point, rumours suggested all three would land the role – before Turner raced into the bookies’ favourite slot.
Then, at the end of last week, it was revealed that Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult had also entered the race with screen tests, sending the internet and social media into a frenzy.
The frenzy has focused mainly on Pattinson, thanks to his global stardom, busy filming calendar, and the desire to take the “jobs of younger actors” (he’s four years older than the other names in the running for Bond).
He’s also already Batman, and nobody has held the roles of Batman and Bond at the same time before.
Unprecedented is an understatement.
But this is a different time for James Bond, with Amazon in full control of a franchise that needs a reset after Daniel Craig’s 007 died in 2021’s No Time to Die (turns out he did have some time).
Why is Robert Pattinson in pole position for James Bond?
So why has Pattinson cleared into the lead?
According to Matthew Belloni of Puck News, Pattinson’s offer sheet from Amazon is far more enticing than the other candidates’.
The 40-year-old actor has reportedly been offered a three-film deal, compared to the four films offered to the other, younger contenders, and considerably more money.
This suggests Amazon holds Pattinson in higher regard, giving him a friendlier deal than the other actors.
Betting and prediction sites such as Kalshi and Oddschecker have also moved Pattinson into first place.
It makes sense for Amazon to rip up the form book and go for Pattinson.
Before, Bond has always been more famous than the man who plays him.
Craig’s stardom had reached only British television drama, indie films, and bit-part plays in studio offerings before he landed Bond.
But Amazon needs to guarantee success with its Bond relaunch, and encouraging a new audience to fall in love with the franchise and secure its future for generations is also key.
Pattinson will get Gen Z and millennial audiences into cinemas without them even needing to glimpse a trailer, and traditional audiences will always turn up for James Bond.
It’s a win-win.
Don’t count out the other candidates
Does giving the role to such an A-list actor take some of the fun out of Bond?
Surely, with a mega director in Denis Villeneuve, a mega writer in Steven Knight and starving anticipation to return to a franchise after a lengthy hiatus, one of the young hopefuls can successfully relaunch Bond.
Take Turner, for instance, the previous Bond favourite with bookies and a man who looks like an artistic impression of the character from Ian Fleming’s original novels.
He has just enough cachet with Gen Z audiences to draw them in – thanks mainly to his mega pop star wife, Dua Lipa.
Turner’s acting lets him portray roles that are suave and aloof, but with an underlying sinister edge.
Those are perfect Bond ingredients.
Those are traits Lowden also exhibits, the Slow Horses star who has endeared himself to UK audiences as the daft spy River Cartwright.
In the moments River has his shit together, it’s clear Lowden could take Bond in his stride.
O’Connor, meanwhile, rarely tackles Bond-like roles, making him an exciting enigma in the casting race.
Hoult’s talents, evident throughout a long career that stretches back to his childhood, are obvious.
So, while Pattinson might look like the prime candidate, he shouldn’t be seen as the only one.
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