The search for the next James Bond has produced a rumored shortlist of three actors, and all of them share an unusual common thread: recent starring roles in World War II television dramas.
According to Screen Rant, the names circulating as betting-odds favorites for the role of 007 at Amazon MGM are Callum Turner, Jack O'Connell, and Jack Barton. Amazon MGM has not confirmed any shortlist. Two of the actors, O'Connell and Barton, appear together in SAS: Rogue Heroes, a BBC One series that airs in the United States on Epix and MGM+. Turner stars separately in Masters of the Air on Apple TV.
SAS: Rogue Heroes was created by Steven Knight and tells the origins of the British Army Special Air Service during the Western Desert Campaign in World War II. O'Connell plays Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Mayne, one of the founding members of the SAS and one of the British Army's most decorated officers in real life. Barton joins the series in its second season, playing Lieutenant John Eliot Tonkin, who historically was one of the few survivors of Operation Bulbasket. Both seasons of SAS: Rogue Heroes hold a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Turner's series, Masters of the Air, follows the 100th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force operating out of eastern England. The show is a companion piece to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, though it streams on Apple TV rather than HBO. Turner plays Major John "Bucky" Egan, who in real life served with the 100th Bomb Group during World War II and later fought in the Korean War with the United States Air Force.
Screen Rant notes that the connection between these actors and World War II material may not be coincidental, given that James Bond as a character has roots in that era. Ian Fleming drew heavily on British wartime experience when creating Bond, and the character's origins are tied directly to that conflict.
The reported shortlist has not been verified by Amazon MGM, and no timeline for an announcement has been made public.
