While Amazon MGM Studios prepares to relaunch James Bond on the big screen, IO Interactive's 007 First Light has already introduced audiences to a brand-new version of the iconic spy.
The video game, which casts Patrick Gibson as a younger Bond, has quickly become one of the franchise's biggest success stories outside the films and has reignited interest in 007 across multiple forms of media.
James Bond Is Also Returning to Theaters
At the same time, the cinematic future of Bond is beginning to take shape.
Amazon MGM Studios is currently developing a new James Bond film that will exist separately from Daniel Craig's era, which concluded with No Time to Die (2021). Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) is attached to direct the project, while Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the screenplay.
The search for the next actor to play Bond is also underway, with casting director Nina Gold reportedly leading the process. But while fans continue speculating about who will inherit the tuxedo next, several other versions of Bond have already returned through a growing slate of novels.
007 in Literature
Since first appearing in Ian Fleming's Casino Royale in 1953, Bond has existed in numerous literary continuities beyond the films. In recent years, publishers have increasingly explored different corners of the character's world, creating standalone series that run alongside one another.
One of the latest releases is Hurricane Room by Kim Sherwood. The novel serves as the third installment in her Double O trilogy, following Double or Nothing and A Spy Like Me. Rather than focusing solely on Bond, the series expands the wider world of MI6 and its agents while still remaining connected to the familiar mythology.
Another returning continuity arrives this October with Vaseem Khan's The Man with the Golden Compass. The novel follows Quantum of Menace as the second entry in The Q Mysteries series.
As the title suggests, the books focus primarily on MI6 quartermaster Q, though Bond himself makes appearances throughout the stories.
Fans of Young Bond also have a major release to look forward to later this year. Charlie Higson recently announced King Zero, a new addition to the popular series that began with SilverFin.
While the upcoming novel follows an adult Bond rather than the teenage version featured in earlier entries, it continues the continuity Higson established through books such as Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold, and By Royal Command.
King Zero is scheduled for release this September.
With a major video game already finding success, a film reboot moving forward behind the scenes, and multiple literary continuities expanding simultaneously, Bond currently finds himself enjoying one of the busiest periods in the character's history.
007 First Light is available now. The next James Bond film has not yet received a release date.
Which new Bond adventure are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below!
