Amazon MGM names Denis Villeneuve as director of the next James Bond film

Amazon MGM Studios announced in September 2025 that Denis Villeneuve, the Canadian director of Dune and Blade Runner 2049, would direct the next James Bond film, informally known as Bond 26. Steven Knight, the British writer who created the TV drama Peaky Blinders, was named as screenwriter.

The appointment was the first major creative decision since Amazon took control of the franchise in 2025, when long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson handed over creative control of the series. Amy Pascal and David Heyman were set to produce.

The choice mattered because it signalled the direction of the series after Daniel Craig's final outing, No Time to Die (2021). Villeneuve was known for large-scale, serious science fiction, and his hiring raised expectations for a new tone. It also opened the central question that has dominated the story since: who would be cast as the next 007. No actor had been confirmed at the time.