Robert Pattinson's prospects as James Bond are reportedly looking pretty good

Those terms (or “test deals,” as Belloni puts it) break down like this: While the actors testing for Bond signed agreements to appear in up to four films should they be cast (O’Connor and Lowden, according to Belloni’s source, signed such an agreement), Pattinson managed to whittle his potential obligations down to three movies and a higher payday. And it seems Amazon’s obliging approach to Pattinson took some effort on the studio’s part, given that Pattinson was “a name Villeneuve wanted to see” (no doubt due to the actor’s latest turn in the director’s upcoming Dune: Part Three). According to sources close to the casting process, “some involved were left wondering why the filmmakers would bother if they didn’t really want him.”

Now, Bond purists will argue that Pattinson’s higher profile should disqualify him from consideration. After all, the Broccoli family, which owned the franchise until Amazon finalized full creative control in 2025, had famously held that the star of Bond films should be Bond himself, not the actor who plays him. But, as Belloni points out, that credo may not hold in today’s studio climate, where big-name franchises no longer have the same punch. “No franchise is bulletproof anymore,” Belloni wrote. “Everything is vulnerable, and most can be helped by a value-add element, like an established star.”