Jack Lowden Among Finalists for Next James Bond
Jack Lowden, the Scottish actor who played Lawrence of Arabia in EA's video game Battlefield 1, is one of the finalists to play the next James Bond. GameSpot reported the news on 22 October 2026.
The final stage is a set of screen tests, short filmed trials where actors perform scenes so the filmmakers can see how they look and sound on camera. Deadline reports that the tests could begin as early as Friday, 23 October, and run through the following week. The Hollywood Reporter says they are taking place in London this weekend.
Deadline reports at least four, including Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O'Connor. The Hollywood Reporter reports at least three, with up to five possibly testing. Both say Jacob Elordi is not among those testing, and The Hollywood Reporter adds that Jack O'Connell is not either.
The tests were first planned for earlier in October. Deadline reports they were moved to the end of the month because of schedule conflicts among the finalists. No date has been set for the final casting decision, though it is expected by the end of the year.
Each test has three parts: stunts, camera presence and dialogue, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The same outlet notes that a test for the role twenty years ago included full hair and makeup and a full camera and sound crew on a set. Henry Cavill was among the actors who tested for the part that Daniel Craig eventually won.
Craig played Bond in five films, from Casino Royale in 2006 to No Time To Die in 2021. That film is the most recent Bond movie. Amazon MGM Studios bought the Bond creative rights from the Broccoli family in February 2025, and it holds full creative control of the franchise.
The next film is being directed by Denis Villeneuve. Steven Knight has been tapped to write the script, and Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing. Nina Gold is the casting director. Deadline reports that first-round auditions were held in August, after two months of meetings, and that the team cut the list to a final group in September.
Lowden's name has come up in the Bond conversation before, and GameSpot notes that Ian Fleming's literary Bond is Scottish, as was Sean Connery, the first actor to play the role on screen. Amazon MGM Studios has said the search is underway and that it will not comment on the casting process.
