In a twist nobody in Hollywood saw coming, the actor who plays Batman may be about to pick up a licence to kill. Robert Pattinson has reportedly screen tested for the role of James Bond, putting the 40-year-old star firmly in the race to succeed Daniel Craig as 007. The news, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter on 6 November, has set film fans alight — because if Pattinson lands the part, he would hold two of the biggest roles in cinema at the same time: Gotham’s Dark Knight and Britain’s most famous secret agent.
What The Hollywood Reporter revealed
The Hollywood Reporter said multiple sources had confirmed that Pattinson is among the actors who have screen tested for the part, with the tests said to have taken place over the weekend of 24 October. The tests were held in London, where Pattinson is currently filming The Batman Part II. Amazon MGM Studios has declined to comment on the report, and no casting decision has been announced.
It is worth being clear about what a screen test actually means. It is a filmed audition — a step in the casting process, not a job offer. Casting teams record a candidate performing scenes so they can compare hopefuls side by side, and taking part proves only that the studio is seriously considering the actor. Even so, Pattinson’s name in the mix is a genuine surprise, and The Hollywood Reporter itself flagged the obvious objection: as the trade put it, “the conventional wisdom goes against a world famous Bond” — before adding that “these are unprecedented times in the franchise”.
Who else is in the race for 007?
Pattinson joins three names who were already in the frame: Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor, all of whom have been mentioned as finalists in the long search for Craig’s successor. Nicholas Hoult’s name is also now surfacing as one of the contenders — Hoult played Lex Luthor in last year’s Superman, and he was once the runner-up to Pattinson himself for the role of Batman. Earlier in the week, reports suggested Turner had been spotted attending a screen test at Bray Studios in Berkshire, which led some Bond watchers to conclude the role was already his. The Pattinson report blows that reading wide open.
The official search for the next Bond began in May 2026, when the official 007 website and the studio said the search was under way but that they would not comment on specific details during the casting process. Six months on, the list of hopefuls keeps growing rather than shrinking.
The Villeneuve connection — and why Pattinson is a surprise
Two things make Pattinson’s candidacy striking. The first is his fame: he is already one of the most recognisable leading men in the world, and the Bond role has traditionally gone to actors on the way up rather than established global stars. The second is his connection to the director. Pattinson has already worked with Denis Villeneuve, who will direct the next Bond film, on Dune: Part Three, which is due in cinemas on 18 December (see our coverage: https://urdupro.info/dune-part-three-final-trailer/). That shared history gives him a genuine advantage — Villeneuve already knows exactly what Pattinson can do on a huge production.
Villeneuve will direct from a script by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, and the film will be the first Bond made under Amazon’s creative control. Pattinson’s own schedule is already crowded: he is filming The Batman Part II in London, the sequel to his 2022 hit The Batman, which makes the London screen tests easy to arrange — but also raises the question of how two giant franchises could ever share one leading man.
What happens next — and what Amazon has (not) said
The next Bond film will be the first made under Amazon’s creative control, after Amazon bought the creative rights from longtime custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in February 2025. Production is expected to begin in 2027, and reports say the role is expected to be cast before the end of the year. Until Amazon MGM speaks, everything remains a report rather than an announcement — but the fact that Pattinson’s name is in the mix at all shows how open this race still is. More on this year’s biggest Hollywood releases: https://urdupro.info/hollywood-movies-2026-release-dates/
Whether Pattinson ends up ordering his martini shaken, not stirred, or stays in Gotham, one thing is already clear: the search for the next 007 has produced its biggest surprise yet — and the whole film world is watching to see what happens next.
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