Dune: Part Three (2026)

A new chapter for James Bond movie is starting to take shape, and it sounds like the creative team may be looking deeper into the spy’s past. As Denis Villeneuve continues work on Dune: Part Three , development on Bond 26 is ramping up behind the scenes. Casting is already underway with Oscar-nominated casting director Nina Gold helping search for the next actor to step into the tuxedo. The goal reportedly is to find someone charismatic enough to carry the franchise for at least four films, which already suggests Amazon and MGM are thinking long-term with this reboot. Now, screenwriter Steven Knight has offered some interesting insight into how he’s approaching the new movie, and his comments may tease a slightly different take on Bond’s history. Speaking with Screen Daily , Knight explained that he’s been doing extensive research while writing the script, saying that he’s been meeting with “the SAS and even more secret outfits.” “I am talking to them about what they do every day. It’s all real. [Ian Fleming]... was living that life. In the war, he was doing those things. He knew people doing that stuff, going out there and killing people.” Bond traditionally comes from a Royal Navy background before eventually becoming an MI6 operative. The mention of the SAS could point to a subtle shift in Bond’s military origins for this new era of the franchise. It wouldn’t completely reinvent the character, but it would give this version of 007 a slightly different foundation and potentially a more grounded combat background. Knight also talked about why the character has survived so many creative changes over the decades, saying: “Bond has been bulletproof. People have been able to make mistakes and variations, quite elaborate variations, and the character has survived because the core of it is like a diamond. You can’t touch it. The person you are talking about is folklore.” That mindset is important right now as Amazon prepares to relaunch one of cinema’s most iconic franchises. The Bond movies have constantly evolved over the last 60-plus years. Fans have seen versions of the character that leaned heavily into campy fun, cold-war espionage, gritty realism, and high-tech blockbuster spectacle. Reinvention has always been part of Bond’s DNA. Because the studio reportedly wants a younger actor for the role, there’s a good chance Bond 26 could explore parts of Bond’s life before becoming a fully established 00 agent. Maybe not a full-blown origin story, but enough to show how this version of James Bond developed into the spy audiences will follow for years to come. That idea lines up with other recent Bond projects too, including the upcoming video game 007 First Light, which also explores Bond earlier in his career. Of course, Knight’s conversations with the SAS may simply be part of broader research. He also referenced speaking with “even more secret outfits,” so he could just be gathering information from every possible corner of British intelligence and military operations to make the world feel authentic. Still, it’s hard not to wonder if Villeneuve and Knight are preparing something a little different for the next Bond.