Morning News · Monday 9 November 2026
Denis Villeneuve came within a breath of naming the next James Bond on stage in Los Angeles on Saturday night, then stopped, joking that producer Amy Pascal was about to have a heart attack. Also this morning: Dante’s Inferno gets a brutal horror makeover in The Divine Comedy, which has finished filming, a report links Jeremy Allen White to Marvel’s Wolverine, and A24’s You Can See Everything becomes the second-biggest documentary ever in North America.
The News That Matters
James Bond: Denis Villeneuve stops just short of naming the next 007
- What happened: Accepting his honour at LACMA’s Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles on Saturday 7 November, Villeneuve told the audience: “With the blessing of my new friends at Amazon, I will reveal to you tonight who will be the next James Bond. The new James Bond is…” before adding, “and I will stop right now because Amy Pascal is about to have a heart attack,” The Hollywood Reporter reported. On the red carpet he told Variety he was having a “great time” with the casting but named no one
- Where the search stands: Nobody has been cast. Deadline reports, citing insiders, that Jack Lowden, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult took part in final screen tests. Amazon MGM Studios has not confirmed any name. Deadline says most expect a decision by the end of November, potentially before US Thanksgiving on 26 November. Treat all of this as reporting, not a decision
- Villeneuve on AI: In the same speech he contrasted making “something with a prompt” with going “into the desert with actors, with a crew”, saying the process “is how the human experience acquires its meaning”
- Next up for him: Dune: Part Three, which he tied to the speech’s theme of the world our children inherit
- UK availability: Dune: Part Three opens in UK cinemas and IMAX on Friday 18 December 2026. The Bond film has no title or release date yet; UK date not yet confirmed
A perfectly judged joke from a director who clearly knows the answer. We covered the reported screen tests in our 7 November Morning News and Bill Skarsgård’s “not even thrown into the mix” comments in our 8 November Evening News, and the final Dune: Part Three trailer is here.
Dante’s Inferno becomes extreme horror as The Divine Comedy wraps
- What happened: Anxur Films, with Skincrawl Studios, has wrapped principal photography on The Divine Comedy, the new horror film from Chilean director Patricio Valladares (Hidden in the Woods), FANGORIA reported, debuting a first teaser and stills
- The story: A brutal reimagining of Dante’s Inferno. Grieving writer Dante is offered a chance to bring back his late wife, Beatrice, and descends into the realm of the dead guided by Virgil, a former priest. As they go deeper, they realise something in the abyss knows exactly why Dante has come
- Who’s in it: Christopher Rygh (Vikings: Valhalla) leads, with Matthew Metcalfe, Tilda Metsola and Fadhillah Othman
- The tone: The filmmakers cite Clive Barker’s Hellraiser and Xavier Gens’ Frontier(s) as touchstones, promising physical horror pushed to its limits. It is expected next year
- UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed
With Hellraiser and Frontier(s) as reference points, this is clearly not one for the faint-hearted. If you want gothic horror with more restraint, our Nosferatu Super Review and definitive horror guide have you covered.
Report: Jeremy Allen White met Marvel, but Wolverine isn’t in the X-Men script
- What’s being reported: The Bear star Jeremy Allen White is said to have met Marvel Studios about potentially playing Wolverine, according to reporter Jeff Sneider, as reported by ComicBookMovie.com
- The clarification: Sneider has since said White is not actually in talks to play Wolverine, and that Logan is not currently in the script for Jake Schreier’s X-Men reboot. Marvel has not commented
- What is confirmed: The announced cast includes Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Charles Xavier and Adam Driver as Mister Sinister
- UK availability: X-Men is dated for 5 May 2028 in US cinemas; UK date not yet confirmed
This is a report, not a casting, and even its source is playing it down. Adam Driver’s reasons for finally saying yes to Marvel are in our 8 November Morning News.
Update: You Can See Everything becomes the second-biggest documentary ever in North America
- What’s new: A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary took $8.8 million in its fourth weekend, down just 23%, and now stands at $80 million in North America, Variety reported. That puts it above March of the Penguins ($77 million) and behind only Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 ($119 million) among non-music documentaries
- For A24: It is the company’s third-biggest domestic release, behind Backrooms and Marty Supreme, on a $7 million production budget
- Who made it: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim direct the near three-hour film, which follows Holmes over three years as she prepares for her 11-year prison sentence. The Industry newsletter notes it has now out-earned Oppenheim’s Robert Pattinson drama Primetime
- UK availability: It has not opened outside North America yet; Variety says a staggered international rollout starts at the end of November. UK date not yet confirmed
When it edged Clayface for No 1 a week ago, in our 1 November Evening News, it was already remarkable. Now $100 million looks within reach.
Movieversalfilm Takeaway
Villeneuve’s fake-out is the clearest sign yet that the Bond decision is close, but until Amazon MGM Studios or the producers say a name, nothing is confirmed. Elsewhere, The Divine Comedy promises a punishing descent into Hell, the Wolverine chatter has been cooled by its own source, and a documentary keeps beating blockbusters at the US box office.
Who do you think Villeneuve was about to name? Tell us below.
Back tonight at 6pm with the Evening News.