The Hollywood Reporter is predicting that The Crown star Josh O’Connor will be the next actor to play James Bond.

With 2024 coming to a close (woo!) and 2025 just around the corner (yay…?), we have a lot to look forward to. We’re talking the next Mission: Impossible, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, the new Paul Thomas Anderson, the third Avatar flick, James Gunn’s Superman, and so, so much more. But let’s face it: there is a lot of uncertainty for the business in 2025. Sure, we could harp on the AI takeover, but let’s think more positive. This will be the year we finally hear who the next James Bond is…right?

Outgoing James Bond Daniel Craig may not care who the next 007 is, but you better believe that after more than six decades of invested spy work, we do! We’ve heard all sorts of names thrown out as to who should take over James Bond, but one that The Hollywood Reporter is putting their baccarat cards on is Josh O’Connor, who hit his most widespread audience by playing Charles on The Crown, not to mention his performance in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers.

After winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series – and a Screen Actors Guild as part of the ensemble – for The Crown, Josh O’Connor could very well be in a good position to play James Bond. Of course, O’Connor has plenty of other credits to his name, primarily through British series such as Peaky Blinders, Ripper Street and The Durrells, in which he had a lead role. There, too, is a terrific movie called God’s Own Country, which found him being nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. Next, he will star in Steven Spielberg’s yet-to-be-titled UFO movie.

With a prediction – and what can be perceived as an endorsement – from The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like Josh O’Connor could be in a solid position to actually be considered for James Bond. I’ll be honest, the name had never really dawned on me for 007 prior to this, but considering the path he has paved so far in the business – and that he’s a talented British bloke in his mid-’30s (a trait producer Barbara Broccoli has said is a must) – O’Connor could be on his way. Truthfully, he might have just enough fame where he’s recognized and appreciated but won’t overpower the character.

What do you think of Josh O’Connor as a potential choice for James Bond? Does he have what it takes to usher in the next era of 007?