Who Should Be the Next James Bond? Jeff Bezos Wants to Know

The casting call for the next James Bond has gone out—from Jeff Bezos.

The founder of retail and tech giant Amazon.com (AMZN) on Thursday asked people for ideas—”Who’d you pick as the next Bond?”— on the social platform X, getting suggestions ranging from actors to oddballs (like non-actors and comedians) to Bezos himself.

The message coupled with the announcement that Amazon would be taking on creative control over the storied spy franchise, the movie distribution rights to which it already held. (Financial terms weren’t disclosed.) The most recent movie in that line was 2021’s “No Time to Die,” the fifth to feature Daniel Craig as the secret agent with a well-known preference for shaken martinis.

What forms that creative control might take weren’t detailed in the announcement. “We are honoured to continue this treasured heritage,” an Amazon executive said in the company’s press release, “and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world.”

Whatever may happen, Thursday’s development revitalizes the conversation around who should—or shouldn’t—portray Bond, and how the spy should be portrayed. Names including Henry Cavill, Idris Elba and Tom Hardy have long been discussed as possible heirs to the role, with fans offering up speculative trailers on YouTube and elsewhere featuring their favorites.

Meanwhile, Amazon has plenty of other new spy content: The third season of “Reacher,” based on an American agent rather than an English one, is now available on its Prime video platform.