Next James Bond: Amazon make shock u-turn on casting plans - who will play 007 now?

It has been almost four years since the last James Bond film, No Time To Die, which was Daniel Craig’s final outing as the spy. Since then, the world has been left to speculate about what the future of the franchise might hold.

Although producers have now been hired to steer the ship - namely David Heyman and Amy Pascal - and Amazon has reportedly “fast tracked” the film-making process, there has been no word on who might play the lead role.

Names such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Henry Cavill and Rege-Jean Page have domianted rumours and discussions about the next James Bond. But now, Amazon appears to be going in a different direction.

According to reports, Amazon is planning to take the James Bond franchise back to the 1950s and 60s, with plans to hire a younger actor for the role. Ideally, they want someone who is still in their 20s - ruling out most of the previous leading candidates.

A spin-off based around character Eve Moneypenny is apparently also in the works, with Oppenheimer and Don’t Worry Darling star Florence Pugh the frontrunner for the part.

Speaking on the We’re Not Getting Any Younger podcast, Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays said: “I heard a rumour they’re going to cast someone very young and go back to the origins. They’re going to have all the retro cars and that sort of stuff - and start again.

“I think that would be kind of cool.”

This u-turn in the franchise has completely shaken up (not stirred) the list of likely candidates to become the next James Bond. Here are a few actors who fit the criteria to now become the next James Bond:

Connor Swindells

Best known for his work in SAS: Rogue Heroes, Sex Education and Barbie, Connor Swindells is my preferred candidate for the role. The 28-year-old could balance the ruggedness of being the MI6 operative with the suave charisma needed to be Bond.

His past work has also shown how versatile he is when it comes to both humour and emotional moments; Swindells could knock the role of James Bond out of the park.

Tom Holland

Also 28, Tom Holland is no stranger to action movies, already having the likes of Uncharted and the Spider-Man franchise under his belt. However, it is the latter that could be his undoing if he wanted to become 007.

Holland is practically the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) at this point - with both a fourth Spider-Man movie in production and future Avengers movies in the pipeline, he likely does not have time to commit to a second big franchise.

Paul Mescal

Currently 29 years old, the Gladiator II star has been one of the bookies’ favourites over the past few months. The Irish actor could now be considered the favourite for the role, if the odds are to be belived, as he fits Amazon’s new criteria far better than other frontrunners like Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

But with rumours that the MCU may also come calling for Mescal, with fans speculating that he might have a role in the future of the X-Men franchise, Mescal might have to choose between Marvel and Bond.