Next Jame Bond ranked from six man shortlist after Robert Pattinson joins race

The role of 007 is an absolutely life-changing one for whichever actor takes it on, and in the next month or two we will know the identity of the actor whose life is set to change.

The reboot of James Bond will see the character controlled by Amazon MGM for the very first time, with Denis Villeneuve directing the first instalment with the new actor.

A previous shortlist was leaked which stated there was a four man final shortlist for the role, however this was expanded out to six over the weekend.

The previous four-man shortlist included Jack Lowden, Calllum Turner, and Josh O’Connor, plus one ‘mystery actor’, which has turned out to be Nicholas Hoult.

In addition to this, two reports this weekend added two huge A-List names to the list of actors reportedly up for the role: Harry Styles and Robert Pattinson.

Styles was confirmed by Variety to be ‘in talks’ over the role, whilst Deadline confirmed that Nicholas Hoult had tested for the role along with Robert Pattinson, who was unexpectedly available due to a pause in filming of The Batman: Part II.

This has started a huge debate online around who would be the best option out of the six of them for the role and, if you ask me, there is a very clear top four who could easily be Bond, and two who would be very hard to see excelling in the role.

6 – Harry Styles

Listen, I love Harry Styles’ music and by all accounts in interviews he comes across as a lovely guy. He is not, however, a very good actor.

His best performance was arguably in Dunkirk in a supporting role, but he has yet to have a truly stand-out performance as a leading man.

His performance in Don’t Worry Darling was serviceable but saw Florence Pugh act circles around him.

Sorry to say it Harry fans but of the six options up for the next Bond, Styles is easily the weakest of the bunch.

5 – Callum Turner

Callum Turner’s lack of suitability for the role becomes slightly obvious when you look at the genuinely insane level of talent Denis Villeneueve has had star in nearly every movie he’s ever made.

Even Villeneuve’s earlier films such as Prisoners, Sicario, Enemy and Arrival had Bonafide superstars such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Hugh Jackman, Emily Blunt, and Benicio Del Toro.

Callum Turner is a fine actor, and definitely looks like James Bond. The issue comes that he has not shown himself to yet be on a level acting-wise that would make him able to compete with the standard Villeneuve clearly sets.

Turner’s performances in Green Room and Masters of the Air show that he is a decent young actor, but compared to the heavy hitters on this list he just doesn’t quite match up. Sorry to Mr. Dua Lipa, but it’s a no from me.

4 – Nicholas Hoult

Hoult has come close but missed out on a number of major roles of late, reportedly losing out on being the new Batman to Robert Pattinson, the new Superman to David Corenswet, and even reportedly having lost out on playing Harry Potter as a child to Daniel Radcliffe.

Whilst it would make a great story for Hoult to finally get a major role of this kind after so many near-misses, he just isn’t as suitable for the role as others on this list.

Hoult would undeniably do a fine job, he has shown serious acting chops in his performances on Skins, Superman, The Menu, and The Great, but he simply does not scream James Bond.

3 – Jack Lowden

When the initial list dropped my personal favourite for the role was Lowden, and he quickly became the 'clear favourite' online. He’s a newer name that isn’t quite fully established yet, which is always exciting for a role like James Bond that makes you an A-List celebrity the second you’re announced, but he’s also shown in his six-season run on Slow Horses that he can be brilliantly effective at playing a spy.

Add to that the fact that his natural Scottish accent would be a great return to type for the character, and Lowden is a brilliant choice. If you had to pinpoint any single issue with his casting it would be that he doesn’t quite have the same strength of track record as O’Connor or Pattinson, and it does feel a tad bit obvious to have the best acted spy on TV become the next Bond.

If Lowden was announced tomorrow however, you wouldn’t find me mad whatsoever at the idea.

2 – Josh O’Connor

Okay. Hear me out. When O’Connor was first announced he was by far the most controversial name on the list, with the people who are against his casting being vehemently against his casting.

I myself was not even on board at first, but the more I’ve thought about it the more it is clear it is a brilliant idea.

To address the elephant in the room, O’Connor does not quite have the quintessential Bond ‘look’ the other five on this list do. To anyone who’s seen Challengers however it is incredibly clear that this is in no way a barrier to him bringing both sex appeal and charisma in spades.

When discussing Villeneuve’s tendency to work with an absolute Murderer’s Row of actors, O’Connor is very clearly of that level. Between Challengers, Knives Out, La Chimera, Disclosure Day, and The Crown, his resume is stacked with award-winning and critically acclaimed performances that show his extreme range.

He would be a very different type of Bond to the gruffer and suaver performance of Daniel Craig, but this would be a very welcome change to the character.

If you ask me, O’Connor would be a brilliant pick for the role and one who could embody a far more modern form of the character.

1 – Robert Pattinson

I mean, who is really that surprised? Robert Pattinson has a pre-existing relationship with Villeneuve from Dune: Part Three, anyone who’s seen him in Tenet knows that he looks more like James Bond in that film than the actual character himself, and he is arguably the greatest working actor right now.

This would mean bad things for fans hoping for a third Batman film, but if the trade-off would allow us a Villeneuve Bond film with Pattinson at the helm I think we’d all take it.

Pattinson was a shock inclusion in the list, but from the moment that he was announced to be an option he has become the consensus number one pick online.

One tweet discussing his potential casting said: “The race for Bond is so fun because Callum Turner definitely has the looks for the role, while Josh O'Connor is the far better actor, but then there is just Robert Pattinson who blows this entire line up out of the water.” Spot on.