James Bond contender has 'turned down' the role as he plans to take "some time out"

One of the widely reported frontrunners to replace Daniel Craig as the next James Bond has allegedly taken himself out of contention. The surprising new claim comes just weeks after he was named as one of the few who had apparently made it to the final round of screen-tests.

Josh O'Connor, best known for projects such as The Crown, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and God's Own Country, is said to instead be planning a break from acting in 2027.

Last month, Deadline reported that he was one of four actors still in the running for the job, alongside Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and a fourth unnamed star. Names such as Joe Alwyn, Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult have been floating around since.

Related: When will the new James Bond be announced? All you need to know

Now, though, a source has told the Daily Mail simply: "Josh has turned down the Bond role."

The new report contradicts a recent story in The Sun, which cited another source as saying one of Josh's co-stars in the recent stage production of Golden Boy had let slip that he had, in fact, signed up for the part.

Speaking at a screening of the play last week, the man himself was asked about the chatter and was quoted (via PinkNews) as saying: "No, no, no. We'll see, but I doubt it."

He added: "I’m doing something in January, but then yeah, I’m taking some time out."

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV

So now we (potentially) know one more person who won't be Bond, the question remains: who will?

Producer Amy Pascal said over the summer that an announcement by "the end of the year is a good bet", though of course there are no guarantees that we'll have a name by New Year's Eve.

Whoever does end up booking the job - be it Turner, Lowden or someone else entirely - we do know who is writing and directing the next movie in the series: Steven Knight and Denis Villeneuve respectively.

Earlier this year, Knight was asked if he had an actor in mind when penning his draft, and said: "It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor."

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of the world of K-pop, is here. Buy K-Pop in newsagents or online.

Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.