New rumors have surfaced about who will next play 007 in James Bond 26, and if this casting pans out, it would mean a unique first for the franchise. Bond 26 is being directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Steven Knight, but, of course, the industry is obsessed with the undecided lead star.

The original Bond in the Eon film franchise was Sean Connery. However, Sean Connery’s seven James Bond movies make up just a small portion of the 25-film franchise. Others who have stepped into the role include George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and – most recently – Daniel Craig.

Craig’s debut in the franchise was in 2006’s Casino Royale, and his tenure in the role continued until the death of his version of the character in 2021’s No Time to Die. No further installment has been mounted since then. In the intervening years, longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have ceded creative control to Amazon MGM Studios.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a source close to the production reported that relatively unknown, 37-year-old redheaded actor Scott Rose-Marsh has screen-tested for the coveted role. And, if Rose-Marsh is cast, he would be the first ginger James Bond. While this is an incidental detail, THR wraps up the article with the comment:

[…] remember how Daniel Craig’s blond locks nearly set off an international incident when his casting was announced in 2005?

What This Means For James Bond

As THR points out, new James Bond casting announcements tend to cause a stir. Should Rose-Marsh board the James Bond franchise, this could potentially be the case for him as well. While Craig grew to be a widely beloved Bond, there was widespread doubt ahead of his debut, especially because he looked different from the previous Bond actors.

Another potential source of dissent around Rose-Marsh’s casting is that he is a largely unknown actor. Generally, the stars that have been speculated to be auditioning for the role have been better-known, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Holland, Richard Madden, and Idris Elba.

However, it is much more likely that a relative unknown will take on the role, as this has generally been the franchise’s approach to their lead role. In fact, Craig himself had only just had his breakout role in 2004’s Layer Cake when he was originally cast as James Bond.

Our Take On The James Bond Update

While Scott Rose-Marsh is unknown to the point that there are no pH๏τos of him on his IMDb page, he does have his fair share of previous roles under his belt.

Most notably, he starred opposite Stephen Moyer (True Blood, the After franchise) in the 2021 crime movie Code of Silence, though he has also appeared in eight of the 12 episodes of the Welsh drama Yr Amgueddfa and played a small role opposite Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) in the 2022 thriller Wolves of War.

He has already shown his ability to perform in a range of genres, which is a necessary skill for starring in a James Bond movie, because the character tends to exist in the space between action, drama, and comedy.