Robert Pattinson has entered the search for the next James Bond, with multiple sources telling The Hollywood Reporter that the 40-year-old actor has screen tested for the role. He joins fellow contenders Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor as the franchise looks for its next leading man.
The tests reportedly took place over the weekend of Oct. 24. The outlet had previously reported that four or possibly five actors were being considered, although only three names had emerged at that point. Nicholas Hoult is now also being named as one of the previously unidentified contenders. Hoult was a runner-up to Pattinson for the Batman role years earlier.
Pattinson’s involvement challenges expectations that the next 007 would be an actor without an established global profile. Already one of the most prominent stars of his generation, he leads DC Studios’ Batman franchise. He is currently in London filming The Batman Part II, in the same city where the Bond screen tests have been held. Amazon declined to comment on the testing.
The actor also has a recent working relationship with Denis Villeneuve, who is directing the next Bond film. Pattinson appears in Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune: Part 3, scheduled to open Dec. 18, and their collaboration is said to have gone well. His other director collaborations include Robert Eggers, the Safdie brothers and Christopher Nolan, whose 2020 espionage film Tenet featured Pattinson.
The casting report arrives during a particularly busy year for Pattinson. His work includes a key part in Nolan’s The Odyssey, a co-leading role in A24’s hit The Drama and the lead in Primetime, another A24 film that has been well received.
The next Bond production marks a change in the franchise’s leadership. It will be the first installment made under Amazon’s creative control after the company bought those rights from the Broccoli family in February 2025. Amy Pascal, whose credits include Spider-Man, and Harry Potter producer David Heyman are producing.
Heyman’s credits also connect him to Pattinson’s early career. The actor broke through with a tragic role in 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before achieving worldwide recognition through Twilight a few years later.
The search is unfolding 21 years after Daniel Craig’s casting as Bond in October 2005. Craig left the role after five films, concluding with No Time to Die in 2021. His run included 2012’s Skyfall, the franchise’s only film to reach $1 billion.
