Jack Lowden 'clear favourite' for James Bond role after completing final 007 auditions with Callum Turner

Jack Lowden is thought to be the 'clear favourite' for the anticipated James Bond role after final auditions took place this weekend.

Final screen tests took place at Bray Studios, with Lowden, Callum Turner and a mystery star auditioning to be the next 007 agent.

Lowden has been given the clear approval from fans, with the Scottish actor given odds of 8/11 to bag the role.

Meanwhile, Turner faces 2/1 odds and all other contenders have been given a less favourable 16/1. 

Bookies at Ladbrokes told The Sun: 'The Bond race looks to be reaching crunch time and punters are firmly backing Jack Lowden to get the call.

'He's already odds-on and the latest speculation has only fuelled support for him, with Callum Turner looking like his biggest threat.'

Jack Lowden is thought to be the 'clear favourite' for the anticipated James Bond role after final auditions took place this weekend

Final screen tests took place at Bray Studios, with Lowden, Callum Turner (pictured) and a mystery star auditioning to be the next 007 agent

Bond sleuths have flooded social media with theories about who the unnamed actor leaving the auditions could be, and one name that has appeared multiple times is Joe Alwyn.

The actor has previously appeared in Conversations With Friends, The Brutalist and Hamnet – and fans have said it would 'make sense' if he was the unnamed star.

One social media user wrote: 'I can't think of any other reason why they would hide the actor, Joe has a good reason tho to be hidden tho.

'Nina Gold one of the casting directors knows Joe really well, she's known him from drama school and casts him in his first film as well as now.

'Making the actor hidden because that's the most likely to be confirmed bond I don't think is the case as why would they announce the other three if they already know who it's likely to be.'

The post, which was shared on Reddit, then sparked a sea of responses agreeing with the theory.

They included: 'Never thought about him as a contender before, but it makes sense;'

'He is supposed to be filming in NYC for a Rom com, but was in London this week for a friend's wedding and potentially this audition.'

Screen tests were said to be taking place throughout this weekend, with between three and five actors understood to have reached the last stages of the process. 

A source told the Daily Mail: 'Daniel Craig's replacement has been years in the making and Callum was called today [Friday] to have his chance to impress the bosses. The next three days are going to be very interesting indeed.'

Meanwhile, James Bond fans have said it would 'make sense' if Joe Alwyn were the unnamed star spotted leaving the Bond auditions

After years of rumours and speculation, it was revealed over the weekend that a final shortlist of stars were performing screen tests to replace Daniel Craig in the role

Bray Studios is a historic production house on the River Thames, home to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios, which now controls the Bond franchise, in 2024.

Turner's meeting with chiefs spells the end of almost a decade-long search to replace Daniel Craig as the world's most famous spy.

The Emma actor, who married the popstar Dua Lipa earlier this year, has long been the front-runner for the role.

Scottish actor Lowden and Josh O'Connor, both 36, are more recent names to be thrown into the ring and Australian actor Jacob Elordi, 29, also in the running will, no doubt anger die-hard fans who believe Bond should be played by a British actor. 

Confirming that the audition process was reaching an end, Bond producer Amy Pascal in August said: 'I would say the end of the year is a good bet.'

Casting by December would allow Amazon MGM Studios to start filming the next movie in 2027.

Dune director Denis Villeneuve, who is taking on the project and bosses at Amazon, announced in May that the casting process was under way.

Ms Pascal said: 'We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow.

'And it's got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different.'

Other stars who were previously linked with the role include The King's Man star Harris Dickinson, along with SAS: Rogue Heroes' Jack Barton.

Only six actors have ever played novelist Ian Fleming's British Secret Service agent in the official film series – Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.