‘It was a train wreck! I was terrified’: how the new James Bond will be announced – and what can go wrong

Amazon MGM Studios is preparing to announce the next James Bond, with five actors reportedly shortlisted to replace Daniel Craig: Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Josh O’Connor, Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. The casting and its unveiling matter because they will signal the direction of a franchise now under Amazon’s creative control, and will transform the chosen actor’s public life.

Past announcements show how easily the moment can misfire. Sean Connery’s casting was announced in a brief trade-magazine notice in 1962, while Craig’s 2005 reveal involved a speedboat trip on the Thames and a press conference. A leak forced organisers to arrange Craig’s event at short notice; safety rules required a lifejacket, which drew ridicule, and Craig later called the experience a “train wreck”.