In September it will be four years since Daniel Craig hung up his tux after starring in his final James Bond film, No Time To Die.
We now know that the next film is in the works, with Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve bagging the director’s chair, following the success of his Dune franchaise.
And it’s now been announced that Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight has been hired to take charge of the script by producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman.
But there’s still no sign of who will play the title character - with further doubt cast on the recuitment process after Barbara Broccoli and her half brother Michael G. Wilson, who have effectively previously handpicked the Bond actors since the 1990s, signed over ‘full creative control’ to Amazon MGM Studios.
It had previously been reported that Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been offered the part, but that now seems unlikely - and a number of actors have been tipped over the course of this year.
Here are the latest 12 actors with the best chance of pulling in 007’s tux - according to the bookies.
5. Jack Lowden - 9/1
Equally at home on the stage or on the screen, Scot Jack Lowden first found fame in 2016 BBC miniseries of 'War & Peace' and has since starred in the likes of 'Dunkirk' and 'Mary Queen of Scots'. He's reached his biggest audience to date starring opposite Gary Oldman in acclaimed spy drama 'Slow Horses' and is set to play Mr. Darcy in Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. He's priced at 9/1 to be the first Scottish James Bond since Sean Connery. | Getty Images
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6. Aaron Pierre - 10/1
Priced at 10/1 is Aaron Pierre, an actor who wasn't even in the frame a couple of months ago, but who is now one of the favourites to play 007. The English actor found fame in television scifi 'Krypton and has gone on to star in films such as 'Old', 'Rebel Ridge' and 'Mufasa: The Lion King'. | Getty Images
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7. Harris Dickinson - 10/1
Recently starring alongside Nicole Kidman in an eye-opening role in 'Babygirl', Harris Dickinson is in the frame to play both Doctor Who and James Bond. It's only seven years since his first starring role in 'Beach Rats', but he's since barely put a foot wrong, playing John Paul Getty III in the FX drama series 'Trust', then bagging major roles in a string of big films including 'The King's Man', 'Triangle of Sadness', 'Where the Crawdads Sing', and 'The Iron Claw'. He's seen his Bond odds tumble in recent weeks and is now 10/1 for the role. | Getty Images
8. Tom Holland - 12/1
Another actor not even in the conversation when it came to the next Bond but who is now one of the favourites is Tom Holland - with odds of 12/1. His casting would make perfect sense if the film was to look at the early life of the superspy - but would Holland have time between playing the lead in the Spiderman films? | Getty Images