Could 2026 finally be the year the next James Bond star is cast?

It’s looking likely, given Denis Villeneuve has signed on to direct with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight as screenwriter of the Amazon 007 reboot.

Hollywood stars from Callum Turner and Jacob Elordi to Aaron Taylor-Johnson continue to have the shortest odds of being cast as the seventh official Bond.

However, threatening their lead is a rising star who’s on his way to becoming a household name.

Henry Ashton is currently at 8-1 to be the next James Bond and fits the kind of casting credentials that saw Craig bag the role 21 years ago. At 35 years old and standing at 6ft 2, this public schoolboy and former model is a great fit for beginning a 007 film career. Best-known for playing Daeron Targaryen in the new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he also starred in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, My Lady Jane and played Sandy Hammond in Outlander.

Looking somewhat like a young Daniel Craig, Ashton will next be seen on the big screen in D-Day epic Pressure, in which he plays the son of Brendan Fraser’s General Eisenhower. We wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t at least been in talks for Bond, a casting choice which could be revealed as early as mid-April. After all, Amazon MGM Studios will give a presentation on its future movie slate at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.