Bond 26 appears to be getting into gear, with reported August auditions giving the clearest sign yet that Amazon MGM’s first James Bond film is taking shape.

Bill Koenig, Javi Trujillo and David Leigh look at what the latest casting reports really mean, why the new Bond auditions matter, and what this points towards.

The team breaks down the Deadline report on auditions for the new James Bond in August, and wonder if Global James Bond Day will be the moment Amazon finally does what Eon never did?

They also discuss Young Bond casting, Isaac Rouse in Big Finish’s upcoming SilverFin audio adaptation, the problem of public denials in Bond casting, and what can — and cannot — be learned from the Daniel Craig selection process for Casino Royale.

Javi also gives his verdict on 007 First Light, including Patrick Gibson’s performance as Bond, the game’s replay value, its similarity to Casino Royale, and whether Gibson should be considered a serious Bond 26 contender.

Along the way, David's dog gives his own opinion on the Deadline story, Bill outs himself as a Harry Potter fan, and Javi suggests David’s British citizenship may soon be revoked.

Where to find us

Bill Koenig

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Javi Trujillo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/the⁠bondisnotenough⁠⁠

David Leigh

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thejamesbonddossier.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded in the USA and Spain on 29th June 2026.

Professor James Chapman, author of Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films, joins The 007 Files to talk about Bond, film history, and the stories that attach themselves to 007.

He begins with his own route into Bond: the films he first saw, how they landed at the time, and how that early interest eventually became serious work on the series. From there, the discussion moves into the way Bond has been written about, remembered and sometimes misremembered.

One example is the old story that Dr. No was, at one stage, going to feature the villain as a monkey. It is exactly the kind of detail that gets passed around because it sounds too strange to lose. Chapman explains why access to the archives matters. Without the drafts, memos and correspondence, it is too easy for a colourful anecdote to become the accepted version of events.The episode also covers Harry Saltzman’s influence, the early shape of cinematic Bond, and why the first film could so easily have gone in a very different direction.

Where to find us

Professor James Chapman

https://amzn.to/4xnYFH0

Bill Koenig

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Javi Trujillo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/the⁠bondisnotenough⁠⁠⁠

David Leigh

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thejamesbonddossier.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded in the UK, USA and Spain on 8th June 2026.

In this episode of The 007 Files, Javi Trujillo and Bill Koenig talk to Kim Sherwood about her Double O trilogy and the world she created around a missing James Bond.

Kim discusses her own route into Bond, from first watching Pierce Brosnan on television to seeing Die Another Day as her first Bond film on the big screen. She also remembers reading From Russia, With Love at the age of 12, being struck by Ian Fleming’s style even though much of the book went over her head at the time.

The conversation looks at how Kim approached writing Bond without simply copying Fleming. She explains how she built a post-Fleming Bond world for the modern age, with new Double O agents stepping into the spotlight and contemporary threats such as climate change, disinformation, AI surveillance and global instability forming part of the background.

Kim also talks about her first edition Bond books, the creation of her Double O agents, and how their names came about, including how handwriting a letter to the original Joanna Harwood paid off dividends.

She discusses the way she used Fleming’s own work, hidden threads from the books, and legacy characters such as Felix Leiter while still giving the trilogy its own shape.

There is plenty here on research and process too, from planning the books visually on huge sheets of paper to looking into military trauma, real Russian hotels and the wider geopolitical mood shaped by events such as Brexit and Afghanistan.

Kim also talks about the value of saying your ambitions out loud. Her own crazy dream was to write James Bond — and sometimes, telling people what you really want to do can pay off.

Where to find us

Kim Sherwood

https://www.kimsherwoodauthor.com/

Bill Koenig

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Javi Trujillo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/javitru.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/the⁠bondisnotenough⁠⁠

Recorded in the UK and USA on 1st June 2026 .