The hunt for the next James Bond is reportedly entering its final stages, with screen tests for the role scheduled to take place in London this weekend. Actors including Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, and Josh O'Connor are said to be front-runners undergoing tests that will assess their skills in stunts, camera presence, and dialogue.
The chosen actor will succeed Daniel Craig, who originated the role of James Bond starting with the 2006 film Casino Royale.
London itself has a long history with the James Bond franchise, serving as a backdrop for numerous iconic scenes. Ian Fleming's former flat at 22B Ebury Street in Belgravia is marked with a blue plaque.
Several London landmarks have featured prominently in the films. Buckingham Palace and its surroundings were seen in Die Another Day when Gustav Graves parachuted in. The Olympic Stadium was the site of a dramatic entrance by stunt doubles portraying the Queen and James Bond during the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony.
In GoldenEye, parts of London doubled for St. Petersburg. The Langham hotel served as a Russian hotel, and Drapers' Hall became the Russian Council Chamber. Somerset House on the Strand also stood in for St. Petersburg in GoldenEye and later appeared in Tomorrow Never Dies as the location for a meeting between Bond and M. St. Pancras station was depicted as St. Petersburg station, and the interior of St. Sophia Cathedral on Moscow Road was used as a St. Petersburg church.
The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square was featured in Skyfall (2012), where Bond met the new Q in front of J.M.W. Turner's painting The Fighting Temeraire. The painting itself, depicting the warship being towed for scrap, is also featured on the £20 banknote.
The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich was used for scenes in Skyfall and previously featured in the 1983 film Doctor No. The River Thames was a key element in The World Is Not Enough (1999), with Bond traveling by speedboat past the Houses of Parliament and through Tower Bridge to Docklands. City Hall in Southwark appeared in Spectre (2015) as the headquarters of the Centre for National Security.
The Secret Intelligence Service building, Vauxhall Cross, has repeatedly served as the on-screen home of MI6, appearing in The World Is Not Enough, Skyfall, and Spectre. The Old War Office Building in Whitehall played MI6 in Octopussy (1983). Westminster Bridge was used as the location for the Vauxhall Cross Underground station scene in Die Another Day and featured again in the finale of Spectre. The restaurant Rules in Covent Garden, London's oldest, also appeared in Spectre as a meeting place for M, Q, and Moneypenny.