Robert Pattinson Reported Frontrunner for Next James Bond, Puck's Belloni Says

Robert Pattinson has emerged as the frontrunner to play James Bond in Amazon MGM's next film, Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni reported on Friday, 13 November 2026. Belloni said the terms offered to Pattinson, 40, suggest the studio prefers him: his contract calls for three films rather than four, and his fee is much larger, though unspecified. Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O'Connor were first reported on the producers' shortlist, with Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult later tested after each contender was offered test deals. Belloni said producers may not have been fully satisfied with the original shortlist. The 26th official Bond film is directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Left-leaning coverage, led by The Guardian, opens with the report that Pattinson is the favourite, stresses the contract terms and test-deal process, and uses hedged language such as 'reportedly' and 'hint', attributing claims to Belloni and a credible film-industry source. The alternative outlet TMZ, seen only in an excerpt, leads with a Puck theory that Pattinson was brought in after Jack Lowden and Callum Turner failed to impress executives, a claim the other pieces do not make. Right-leaning Daily Mail headlines Pattinson being offered more cash and greater flexibility, calls Belloni Hollywood's best-connected insider, cites three unnamed sources familiar with the talks, and reports Belloni's view that Amazon would not base its Bond on who is cheaper. The Guardian and Mail both share the three-versus-four films detail and the studio-sacrifice point, differing mainly in emphasis: the Guardian stresses hedged reporting, while the Mail stresses money and insider sourcing.