Callum Turner Becomes Bond Favourite as Odds Slash from 3/1 to 8/13

By Tom Whitfield

William Hill has cut Callum Turner's odds of becoming the next James Bond from 3/1 to 8/13, making the 36-year-old actor the clear favourite for the 007 role in Denis Villeneuve's forthcoming film, ten days after final screentests took place.

Who is ahead in the betting?

• Callum Turner — 8/13 favourite, shortened from 3/1
• Jack Lowden — 2/1, the previous favourite
• Josh O'Connor — 9/2 after auditioning recently
• Richard Madden, Robert Pattinson and Joe Alwyn — 16/1 each

The betting move follows a weekend of circumstantial signals rather than any official statement. Turner resigned as director of his own production company, Twentytwo Films Ltd, which he founded last August with his wife, the musician Dua Lipa. Some observers read that as evidence his priorities lie elsewhere. On Saturday, the couple posted Halloween photographs of themselves sipping martinis — the spy's signature cocktail. Neither point is confirmation. Both are the kind of detail bookmakers trade on.

What does Brosnan say?

The most concrete endorsement came from Pierce Brosnan, who played Bond four times and directed none of his enthusiasm toward subtlety. Turner played his son in the 2017 drama The Only Living Boy in New York.

"Callum is someone I've worked with," Brosnan told Vanity Fair, "and he's so strong." He added: "All the men who are on the list now are actors I admire. They all have a voice and a physique, and a presence on film. They all have longevity as actors, all of these young men."

What do the contenders themselves say?

Lowden, speaking to GQ, called the rumours "all very flattering. It's nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I'm just not really going to add to the noise."

O'Connor told the BBC on Tuesday: "To be considered in that same sort of bracket is extraordinary. It's an incredibly bizarre pinch-me moment ... even being uttered in that same sentence and being considered for something like that."

What does this change for the franchise?

Turner, Lowden and O'Connor are all 36-year-old white, heterosexual film stars. Whichever of them wins, the approach of the brand's incoming owners, Amazon MGM, will not stray far from Ian Fleming's template. That sits uneasily beside Barbara Broccoli's remark last year that the new Bond would be "a man" who would "likely be in his 30s", adding: "Whiteness is not a given." On the current shortlist, whiteness is, in effect, given.

Broccoli and Michael G Wilson sold creative control of the franchise to Amazon MGM Studios in February 2025 for more than $1bn, with Broccoli retaining some ownership rights. Amy Pascal and David Heyman were appointed producers, Villeneuve as director and Steven Knight as screenwriter, with release said to be scheduled for 2028. Knight promised: "I will be able to produce something that's the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder." No announcement date is confirmed; Pascal has said the news is likely to be revealed "by the end of the year".

Who is Callum Turner?

Turner began as a model before breaking through in John Boorman's 2014 drama Queen and Country and the Fantastic Beasts sequels The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore, in which he played Newt Scamander's brother. Recent credits include George Clooney's rowing saga The Boys in the Boat (2023) and the love-triangle romcom Eternity (2025), opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller. He will next appear in the satire Rosebush Pruning, premiered at Berlin this year, and the cyberpunk series Neuromancer. He is shooting two films: the horror Possession, from the director of the Smile franchise, and Marielle Heller's sports comedy The Comebacker, with Tom Hanks.

A long road to a 26th film

If named, Turner succeeds Daniel Craig, whose final outing, No Time to Die (2021), ended with Bond apparently dying — before a title card promised: "James Bond will return." Craig's retirement announcement and Covid delays stretched the search across four years, with Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy and Idris Elba all ageing out of contention. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Holland, Henry Cavill, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Jamie Dornan have all been linked to the role since.

The franchise, which began with Sean Connery in 1962's Dr No and passed through George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Brosnan, has grossed $7.8bn to date — the fifth highest-grossing series in history, with merchandise and sponsorship proceeds estimated to far exceed that figure. A name attached to that machine by the end of the year would be Amazon MGM's first major creative signal since the billion-dollar handover.