The James Bond Screen Tests Are Happening Now, and the Shortlist Is Not What I Expected

After years of guessing, the Bond casting has finally reached the stage where people put on the suit and say the line in front of a camera. Trade reports say final screen tests started in London around October 23 and run into this week. Deadline's version has at least four actors testing, with Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O'Connor named as three of them and a fourth still unidentified. Variety was more cautious and only confirmed Lowden and Turner.

The name that is not there is the one everyone had pencilled in. Jacob Elordi was supposedly Amazon's preferred choice for months, and he is reportedly not testing at all. Whether that is a scheduling clash or a change of heart, nobody is saying. Denis Villeneuve is directing and Steven Knight is writing, so whoever gets it walks into a serious production rather than a reboot by committee.

My pick, for what it is worth, is O'Connor. He has the stillness the part needs and he has already played a man who can be charming and cold in the same breath. Lowden would be the safe British choice. Turner is the wildcard. Amazon has not confirmed any of this, so treat it as a strong rumour until the press release lands. Who would you put in the tuxedo?