Jack Barton has emerged as the shock favorite in the Spectre search for the next James Bond, just as screen tests for other leading contenders are set to begin in early September. The reported shift puts an Oxford School of Drama graduate ahead of a shortlist built around better-known names.
Jack Barton and Bond 26
Jack Barton has a barebones public profile, with credits that include Fop 1 in Poor Things and appearances in SAS: Rogue Heroes and Heartstopper. He is also repped by Craig’s UK publicists, a detail that fits the way Bond 26 has leaned toward actors who can still read as partly undiscovered on screen.
In May, Amazon said, “The search for the next James Bond is underway.” That statement framed the market for the role without locking in a casting path, and the latest reports suggest the process has now moved from broad search to a smaller test group.
Debbie McWilliams on enigma
Debbie McWilliams has argued that Bond should remain hard to read. “It is absolutely essential that [Bond] retains a total enigma,” she told The Independent in June, adding, “I don’t want to see any of [the rumored stars] as Bond because we now know so much about them.” She also said, “We want to know as little about them personally as possible, because that’s what spies are,” and, “He’s licensed to kill, and we have to believe that he can do that.”
That view cuts against a shortlist that includes Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Harris Dickinson. Several of those names already carry enough screen identity to make the choice feel less like a debut and more like a recalibration of what 007 can look like in Bond 26.
Early September screen tests
Sources told Page Six Hollywood that screen tests are scheduled to begin in early September, which is the first hard timing marker in the search. For Barton, the practical effect is simple: he has moved from obscure prospect to reported favorite before the field is narrowed in front of camera.
Amazon declined comment and referred Page Six Hollywood to its statement released in May. The decision now sits on whether the team follows McWilliams’s preference for a newcomer or leans into the safer recognition of the other candidates; Barton’s advantage is that he can still be sold as both fresh and usable.
