Variety reports:Amazon MGM Studios started auditioning actors for the part of 007 in the past few weeks, Variety has learned... The next James Bond film will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, the filmmaker behind the "Dune" franchise, "Arrival" and "Sicario." Amy Pascal of the "Spider-Man" films and David Heyman of the "Harry Potter" series will produce the picture, which will feature a script from "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight. Tanya Lapointe ("Dune") is executive producing the film. The BBC notes it's been five full years since the release of the last Bond film No Time To Die, and 15 months "since Amazon MGM Studios took control of the Bond franchise." But they also offer this list of "the current bookmakers' favourites" for who will become the seventh actor to play the gadget-loving super spy in the franchise's 64-year history: Callum Turner — the 36-year-old actor is the current bookies' frontrunner. He has been in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, was nominated for a Bafta for TV drama The Capture, and starred in Apple TV's Masters of the Air... Jacob Elordi — the Australian actor, 28, made his name in TV's Euphoria and cult hit film Saltburn, and was nominated for an Oscar this year for playing the monster in Frankenstein. The Rest Is Entertainment host Marina Hyde recently said she'd heard from a number of well-placed sources that he's now "in pole position" to be Bond. Harris Dickinson — the 29-year-old is playing John Lennon in the forthcoming major Beatles biopics, and has previously appeared in Maleficent, The King's Man, Where the Crawdads Sing and Babygirl, and received a Bafta TV Award nomination for A Murder at the End of the World. Henry Cavill — the Superman, The Witcher and Mission: Impossible actor is a fan favourite and was widely regarded to have been the runner-up when Craig landed the part. But at 43, is he now too old to start a lengthy stint as 007? Aaron Taylor-Johnson — the Bafta-nominated 35-year-old, known for films like Kick-Ass, Kraven the Hunter and 28 Years Later, is a perennial contender, and would fit the bill. Theo James — the suitably suave star, 41, made his name in the Divergent films and has since built his reputation in The Time Traveler's Wife, The White Lotus and The Gentlemen. ...Or producers could well go for one of the many other names who have been touted for the role, or an unexpected choice.Read more of this story at Slashdot.