Callum Turner : Reverse Bond Psychology

It’s been a few weeks of relentless Bond casting speculation and, like a horserace, the lead has changed a couple of times. When this latest round of Bond rumouring first started, it was Jacob Elordi who seemed to have the edge… and then more screen testing was reported to be happening in London but Jacob supposedly wasn’t part of it so, since then, Callum Turner’s odds have been getting better and better.

Earlier this week it came out that he’d supposedly quit the production company he and Dua Lipa formed together and this was taken to be a sign that he was getting ready to fully commit to 007. Then Pierce Brosnan seemed to endorse Callum in the role and now he’s definitely the frontrunner. Sure, but even if he is, and even if they’ve offered the part to him, I’m not sure that getting a public co-sign from a former Bond helps his stress levels, or his case. The producers want the eventual confirmation of the new Bond to be a pop culture event unto itself, not an underwhelming “we know, already”. Also there’s usually a sort-of stunt involved. Back in 2005, to announce Daniel Craig, they turned it into a whole thing on the Thames with a speedboat.

For what it’s worth, Callum is not in London right now. He was papped in New York walking the dog today. Golo is a Lab-Rottweiler cross and that is definitely a smushy goofy rottie face. Callum’s been seen in NYC so much because he’s working there, shooting Possession in the summer and now he’s in production on The Comebacker, co-starring Tom Hanks, who plays his pitching coach. So a baseball film, due out next summer… when there might not be any baseball, wahhhhh. I wonder how this movie will hit if the lockout is still locking out by July 2027.

Back to Callum and being in New York City and getting papped all the time – this also isn’t great for the Bond situation because, in theory, it’s better to keep a lower profile, even disappear, for a while until the right moment, resurfacing for the announcement. Callum clearly can’t do that right now, but if we really want to mindf-ck this casting game, is the reverse psychology here that maybe he IS NOT Bond since he’s been so visible lately? And if he really were Bond, wouldn’t they be asking him to go undercover? Or maybe it’s that they are nowhere near making a decision and each and every one one of these hopefuls needs to live their life. The theories are endless but probably no one is reading the tea leaves right.