James Bond is officially about to make franchise history.Things are heating up for Amazon MGM’s new James Bond film. Directed by Denis Villeneuve (the Dune films), the cinematic 007 reboot will feature a new actor as the iconic MI6 spy, effectively replacing Daniel Craig following his five-film run, which included Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).Credit: MGM/EON ProductionsRelated: Confirmed: Next James Bond Officially Revealed, New 007 Actor Breaks Silence on Landing Iconic RoleJames Bond Makes History With 007 CastingsNow, for the first time in the franchise’s 64-year cinematic history, the impending announcement of a new James Bond actor will mark the third official 007 casting between 2025 and 2026.Earlier this year, IO Interactive’s third-person action-adventure game 007 First Light (2026), which stars Patrick Gibson (Dexter: Original Sin) as a younger Bond — the actor was officially revealed to be playing the character late last year — was released across major gaming platforms.Then, just as fans were getting to grips with a new face behind 007, another actor was officially announced in the upcoming audio drama adaptation of Charlie Higson’s 2005 Young Bond novel SilverFin. Isaac Rouse (The Crown Season 6) will voice a teenage Bond during his time at Eton.Credit: IO Interactive under license from Amazon MGM Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon ProductionsWhen Is James Bond Being Announced?While Amazon MGM has yet to reveal who the new Bond actor is for its next film, it’s likely to happen before the end of this year, as one of the film’s producers, Amy Pascal, recently told Deadline that “the end of the year is a good bet,” adding that the new iteration of the iconic character has “got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different.”Recently, the film’s writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) seemingly cemented Pascal’s comments, as he strongly implied that the actor had already been cast. During an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today program (via The Independent), when asked whether he’d been writing the film with the chosen actor in mind, he said, “It’s a bit of both,” adding, “It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.”Meanwhile, speculation about who the next Bond will be has heated up, with industry chatter pointing toward Scottish actor Jack Lowden (Calibre). Comments from his Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman and wife, actress Saoirse Ronan (Bad Apples), have only fueled those rumors.Credit: Inside the MagicEven if the new actor isn’t revealed until early next year, we’re already well into September, meaning the announcement isn’t that far away regardless, which still puts us on the verge of the third official James Bond casting in a year, give or take. And this has never happened before.Looking at previous major 007 casting reveals — Sean Connery in Dr. No (1962), George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Roger Moore in Live and Let Die (1973), Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights (1987), Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye (1995), and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006) — new actors did occasionally take on Bond in other media (largely in audio form), but not in the same rapid succession we’re seeing now, and not on the same scale.Which iteration of Bond has you the most excited? Gaming, audio, or cinema? Let us know in the comments below!The post Amazon MGM’s Official James Bond Casting Announcement Makes 007 Franchise History appeared first on Inside the Magic.