Back in June 2025, when I last put together a list of candidates to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, one thing was already becoming clear: as much as names like Idris Elba, Henry Cavill and Tom Hardy were still automatically repeated in almost every conversation about 007, the franchise was looking toward a different generation. At the time, Jacob Elordi, Tom Holland and Harris Dickinson were being mentioned as reference points for Amazon, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson remained the overwhelming favorite — so much so that I chose not to include him among my ten candidates, because he seemed to be running in a category of his own.

A little over a year later, a lot has changed. And, finally, it appears that the endless saga over who will become the next James Bond is entering a genuinely concrete stage.

According to Page Six, screen tests for the role are expected to begin in early September under director Denis Villeneuve and highly respected casting director Nina Gold. The six names reportedly included in this round are Jack Barton, Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Harris Dickinson. Amazon MGM has not officially confirmed the list — an essential caveat whenever Bond is involved — but other industry outlets have also been pointing toward the same group.

And there are two things about this list that, to me, are more interesting than simply trying to guess who will end up wearing the tuxedo.

What happened to Aaron Taylor-Johnson?

For years, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was treated as the front-runner. There were moments when it seemed as though only the official announcement was missing. His name survived betting markets, reports of meetings, alleged auditions and stories suggesting the role was practically his. Now, precisely as the selection process appears to be reaching the screen-test stage, he is gone.

That does not mean anyone has formally announced that Taylor-Johnson is out. James Bond may well be the most secretive casting process in Hollywood, and it would be reckless to turn an absence into confirmation. But it is significant that, as concrete names begin to be associated with actual tests, the actor who spent so long being described as the favorite has gradually faded from the conversation.

The second point is the confirmation of something that was already becoming obvious back in June 2025: youth matters. Not necessarily in the sense that they are looking for a 25-year-old Bond. The current list ranges roughly from 29 to 36. What matters is runway. Whoever is chosen is not signing up for a single film, but potentially taking on a franchise for a decade or more.

Daniel Craig was 38 when Casino Royale was released and remained Bond for 15 years. So being 35 or 36 does not automatically rule anyone out. What has largely disappeared, however, is the older generation of actors who dominated these lists for years. The next Bond needs time to age within the role rather than arrive already close to the limit of a long-term tenure.

The list has changed since the one I made in 2025, but the logic has not. Callum Turner and Paul Mescal were among my ten candidates. Jacob Elordi and Harris Dickinson were already mentioned in the introduction as names of interest to Amazon. Others who seemed entirely plausible — George MacKay, Josh O’Connor, Theo James, Will Poulter, Leo Woodall, James Norton and Damson Idris — have, at least for now, fallen by the wayside.

And that brings us to the most entertaining detail of this latest round.

The favorite is exactly the one almost nobody knows

While Elordi, Mescal and Turner arrive with major careers and international recognition, the name reportedly making the strongest impression is Jack Barton.

At 30, the English actor is far from a complete newcomer, but he is not a star yet. He has appeared in Heartstopper, Poor Things, Grantchester and SAS: Rogue Heroes. That relative lack of fame may actually work in his favor: according to reports, Villeneuve and Nina Gold have also been looking at less established actors, and Barton has emerged as an especially strong possibility.

There is another interesting coincidence. SAS: Rogue Heroes was created by Steven Knight, the very writer hired to script Villeneuve’s new James Bond film. It does not mean Knight has chosen Barton, obviously, but it does mean the actor has already moved through the creative orbit of one of the men now helping reinvent 007.

And the more I think about it, the more the idea of choosing a lesser-known actor makes sense. Bond has always been bigger than the actor playing him. Casting a massive star means asking audiences to forget everything they already associate with that person. Casting an actor whose cinematic persona is still being formed allows the opposite to happen: James Bond comes first — and turns the actor into a star.

Perhaps that is why Jack Barton, the name almost nobody would have placed at the top of a Bond list just days ago, is suddenly the most intriguing candidate of all.

We are still talking about reports and screen tests, not martinis already being served. But after five years of speculation since Daniel Craig’s farewell in No Time to Die, the race finally appears to have taken shape.

And if this really is the final stretch, Amazon has already left two important clues about its future 007: he will be relatively young, and previous fame may be anything but an advantage.