Josh O’Connor Calls the James Bond Talk a ‘Bizarre Pinch Me Moment’

Evening News · Tuesday 3 November 2026

Josh O’Connor has finally spoken about the James Bond talk, calling it “an incredibly bizarre pinch me moment”, while Pierce Brosnan has given Callum Turner his seal of approval. Also tonight: Paul W.S. Anderson heads back into deep-space horror for the first time since Event Horizon, Neve Campbell confirms she will be in Scream 8, Ron Howard takes on Robopocalypse, Netflix lands Joel Coen’s Jack of Spades, and Simon Pegg survives the end of the world in My Phone Died.

The News That Matters

Update: Josh O’Connor breaks his silence on Bond, as Pierce Brosnan backs Callum Turner

• What is new: Speaking for the first time since he was reported to be among the final contenders, Josh O’Connor told BBC News on Tuesday that being linked with 007 was “an incredibly bizarre pinch me moment… even being uttered in that same sentence and being considered for something like that.” He said he was “very honoured”, adding: “To be considered in that same sort of bracket is extraordinary. But I am afraid, there is nothing to say beyond that.” He was opening the Everyman Theatre’s new education and community centre in his home town of Cheltenham
• Brosnan’s view: Pierce Brosnan, Bond in four films from 1995 to 2002, told Vanity Fair that he is “just the man in the street who is eager to see who is going to play this epic role”, Variety reported. He worked with Callum Turner on The Only Living Boy in New York and said: “Callum Turner is someone I’ve worked with, and he’s so strong.” He added that he admires “all the men who are on the list now”
• Where the search stands: Amazon MGM Studios has not announced the new Bond and says it will not comment during the process. This morning’s reports that Turner has the part come from Showbiz411, which named no source, and remain unconfirmed. Deadline and Variety have reported that Turner, O’Connor and Jack Lowden were among the actors given final screen tests. Denis Villeneuve directs from Steven Knight’s script, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing, and Pascal has said an announcement by the end of the year is “a good bet”. Bookmakers have made Turner favourite, but odds are speculation, not news of a decision
• UK availability: No title, cast or release date has been confirmed for the next Bond film; UK date not yet confirmed

O’Connor’s answer is as careful as Jack Lowden’s was at the weekend, and neither tells us who has the part. Brosnan’s praise for Turner is friendly support from a former co-star, not inside knowledge. This morning’s Morning News set out the Showbiz411 report on Turner, and last night’s Evening News had Lowden’s GQ interview. For the bigger picture, read our Two Pillars of British Entertainment feature.

Paul W.S. Anderson returns to space horror with Nether Station

• What happened: Paul W.S. Anderson, the British director of Event Horizon and six Resident Evil films, will direct film versions of Kevin J. Anderson’s sci-fi horror novels Nether Station and Nether Vortex, Deadline reported on Tuesday
• The story: A brilliant, neurodivergent young scientist, Cammie Skoura, joins a deep-space expedition that finds a trail of ancient ruins and long-dead alien civilisations, leading to what the books call a mind-shattering discovery
• Who is making it: Jonathan Wakeham (Midas Man, To Catch a Killer) writes both scripts. Paul W.S. Anderson produces with Jeremy Bolt, his partner on Event Horizon, and Weird Tales’ John Harlacher and Tony Eldridge. The author, a co-producer on Dune: Part Two, says Event Horizon was a direct influence on his first novel
• In his words: “Lovecraftian cosmic horror, as experienced by a unique, young central character in Cammie Skoura, has all the ingredients for an unbelievably compelling and terrifying cinema experience,” the director said
• UK availability: No cast, distributor or release date yet; UK date not yet confirmed

Event Horizon flopped in 1997 and has been a cult classic ever since, so seeing its director and producer back in the dark between the stars nearly thirty years later is a real treat for horror fans. The second novel only came out last week, which makes this a fast move.

Neve Campbell confirms she will be in Scream 8

• What she said: Asked about her upcoming projects at the premiere of Black Doves season two, Campbell told the Associated Press: “Scream 8, that’s in the pipeline as well… You know I can’t tell you anything about Scream 8. I’ll be in it.” Deadline, Variety and TheWrap reported the comments on Monday
• Where it stands: Spyglass Media and Paramount are developing the film. Poker Face showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman are writing it; there is no director yet, and Kevin Williamson, who directed Scream 7, is expected to stay on as a producer
• Why it matters: Campbell’s return as Sidney in Scream 7 gave the series its biggest opening, $97.2 million worldwide, and its biggest total, $208 million
• UK availability: No release date for Scream 8; UK date not yet confirmed. Scream 7 is on Sky Cinema and NOW in the UK, and Black Doves season two lands on Netflix on Thursday 5 November

After she sat out Scream VI, it is good to hear Sidney Prescott is staying put, and Campbell is now the beating heart of the series. We picked Scream 7 when it reached Sky Cinema in our What to Watch Tonight, and Black Doves leads this week’s Weekly Streaming Highlights.

Ron Howard will direct a Robopocalypse series, with Akiva Goldsman in charge

• What happened: Imagine Entertainment and Weed Road are developing a series based on Daniel H. Wilson’s 2011 novel, with Ron Howard attached to direct the pilot and Akiva Goldsman writing it and serving as showrunner, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin is an executive producer. No network or streamer is attached yet
• The story: In the near future, the technology that runs the world turns against us. At “Zero Hour” the robots, controlled by a powerful AI, attack and almost wipe out humanity, and the survivors unite to fight back
• A long road: Spielberg optioned the book before it was published and planned to direct it, with Anne Hathaway and Chris Hemsworth attached, before shelving it in 2014. Michael Bay later took it on, but that version was not made either
• In his words: “Daniel created a future that feels both startling and increasingly plausible,” Howard said. It reunites him with Goldsman, his writer on A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code
• UK availability: No platform or release date; UK date not yet confirmed

A rogue-AI war story has never felt more timely, and after more than a decade of false starts, a series gives Wilson’s globe-trotting novel room to breathe. The question now is who buys it.

Netflix lands Joel Coen’s Highland mystery Jack of Spades

• What happened: Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Jack of Spades, a gothic mystery of intrigue and betrayal set in the Scottish Highlands, Deadline and Variety reported. It will play in cinemas in autumn 2027 before streaming
• Who is in it: Josh O’Connor, Lesley Manville, Patsy Ferran and Damian Lewis star. Joel Coen directs from a script he wrote with his brother Ethan, Eleanor Catton and Conor McPherson, based on Frances Frederica Montrésor’s 1901 novel The Alien: A Story of Middle Age
• Behind the camera: Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and composer Carter Burwell return. Frances McDormand produces with Joel Coen, Robert Graf, Indian Paintbrush’s Steven Rales and Blueprint Pictures’ Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin
• UK availability: Cinemas from autumn 2027 (date to be confirmed), then Netflix worldwide, including the UK

A Coen brothers writing reunion, a British cast and a Highland setting make this one to watch, and it is another reason O’Connor’s name is everywhere this week. We first flagged the film in our Screen Wrap last month.

Simon Pegg survives a smartphone apocalypse in My Phone Died

• What happened: Simon Pegg, Mark Duplass and Haley Joel Osment will star in the dark comedy My Phone Died, Variety reported. Hyde Park International has taken international rights ahead of the American Film Market
• The story: When smartphones start exploding around the globe, a handful of survivors, a Hollywood agent, an Amish woman, a social media influencer, a pregnant agoraphobic and her shotgun-wielding stoner mother, find the apocalypse might be a new beginning. Pegg plays the agent, Gus; Duplass plays one of his self-obsessed clients, who does not make it
• Who is making it: Hannah Leder and Alexandra Kotcheff (The Planters) write, direct and co-star. Filming starts in spring 2027
• UK availability: No UK distributor or date yet; UK date not yet confirmed

Pegg doing the end of the world again, this time with exploding phones, is an easy pitch, and he is busy: he also voices the Balrog in The Rings of Power season three, which led our Trailer Radar last week.

Missed this morning’s edition? The Morning News has Ben Wang’s Iceman talks, Toho’s Leviathan and more. Who do you want as the next James Bond? Tell us below.

Back tomorrow with What to Watch Tonight at 7:30am and the Morning News at 8am.