The last year has seen the next James Bond movie, unofficially known as Bond 26, taking its biggest steps forward yet. Following Amazon MGM acquiring creative control of the franchise from Eon Productions, Denis Villeneuve was tapped to direct Bond 26, and Steven Knight was selected to write the script shortly thereafter. But the search for Daniel Craig’s successor goes on, though the latest James Bond contender to emerge is the youngest rumored 007 option that’s been revealed yet.
Since 2022, it’s been indicated, though never outright confirmed, that the next James Bond actor will be much younger than when his predecessors started playing the role. Think someone in their 20s or early 30s as most. Well, that would certainly be accomplished with Louis Partridge, whose credits include the Enola Holmes movies, Jay Kelly and House of Guinness, all of which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. According to Variety, Partridge, who turns 23 in June, is in serious contention play Bond, and this reportedly goes “beyond simply being put on a bookmaker’s list.”
This casting update comes seven months after Louis Partridge told the same publication that he was thinking of ways to impress Knight, who also wrote House of Guinness, at the miniseries’ premiere in the hopes of boosting his Bond chances. Whether he was able to pull that off or not, if the actor is indeed in the running to play the popular British spy, this would definitely help make his Bond era stand out from the others.
For context, Sean Connery was 32 when he first played James Bond; George Lazenby was 29; Roger Moore was 45, Pierce Brosnan was 42, and Daniel Craig was 38 years old. So Connery has maintained the youngest Bond debut for more than 60 years, but going from 32 to 22 is a massive leap. Even if it takes a few more years for Bond 26 to get off the ground, Louis Partridge would still be in his mid-20s and hold the new record.
On the one hand, I understand going with such a younger James Bond actor in terms of ensuring they can star in multiple sequels and handle the physical effort that comes with running around as one of MI6’s best agents. On the other hand, Louis Partridge is still pretty fresh-faced, and I don’t know that I can buy him playing this experienced 007 who can easily dispatch bad guys and already knows he likes his martinis shaken, not stirred. Him in the role more calls to mind the Young Bond books, when the character is a teenager attending Eton College in the 1930s.
I’d certainly welcome being proven wrong, but despite Variety’s claim that Louis Partridge’s consideration for James Bond holds more weight than other contenders, it’s important to consider this just another casting rumor for now. We’ll continue passing along significant Bond 26 updates as they come in. Meanwhile, Partridge can next be seen in the Pride & Prejudice miniseries and Enola Holmes 3, both of which premiere on Netflix sometime later this year.
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