Confirmed: Previous James Bond Will Return Alongside Amazon MGM’s 007 Film Reboot, Writer Reveals
A new James Bond adventure has arrived, and a sequel is already in the works.
King Zero, published in September, is written by author Charlie Higson, who’s certainly no stranger to the world of Bond. But while Amazon MGM’s upcoming film reboot remains the most highly anticipated project in the 007 franchise, Higson’s new adventure is just one of many official new Bond projects currently in development. And now, yet another has been confirmed.
The new novel sees Bond follow the trail of a murdered agent around the world. The synopsis from Ian Fleming Publications reads:
“Le Chiffre. Dr No. Goldfinger. James Bond has faced them all. But now the world is changing, and even 007 has no idea what’s coming for him.
It starts with a murdered agent in the Saudi desert. Only a traitor could have known enough to bring him down. But even James Bond can’t guess at the secret that was worth killing him to keep.
As Bond follows the trail across the globe, he doesn’t realise the countdown has already begun. And hiding in the shadows is a man with more power than he could ever have imagined. Prepare for a villain unlike any before. Prepare for KING ZERO.”
In an interview with Radio Times, Higson has now revealed that he has signed a two-book deal and that he’s already halfway through the sequel to King Zero, which will see his adult version of Bond return.
“I’m about halfway through the follow-up,” he said. “It was a two-book deal, so I can’t sit back and enjoy doing all the publicity for the first one whilst actually thinking about the second one.”
Related: Three Previous Versions of James Bond Have Officially Returned in New Projects
For those who have already read the book, this will come as no surprise, as King Zero ends with the promise that “James Bond will return.” As with the films, the signature tag appears at the end of most official Eon-produced 007 films, including Daniel Craig’s final entry, No Time to Die.
“I wrote that at the end of the manuscript as a sort of in-joke, really,” Higson said. “But everyone said, ‘No, let’s keep it,’ and it is true.” He added, “I don’t know what it will say at the end of the next one!”
While Higson’s Bond draws from Ian Fleming’s original character, he admitted that he also wanted to “reflect the films and the sort of stories and action that we expect from the films” as he believes “most Bond fans today” are “fans of the films” and that most “haven’t read the books.”
“A contemporary Bond fan is more likely to be a fan of the films,” he said, adding, “So I did want to make sure there was more of that cinematic Bond.”
Although Higson was tight-lipped on any plot details, he teased, “I’d say half of it is set in Italy and half of it is set in the Caribbean.”
Like many other planned Bond projects, the untitled novel will release alongside the upcoming film, rather than having any sort of connection with it.
King Zero is one of several new Bond books that have been rolled out over the past year alone, which include The Q Mysteries‘ Quantum of Menace and The Man with the Golden Compass from Vaseem Khan and the Double O trilogy’s third entry Hurricane Room from Kim Sherwood.
Higson’s Previous 007 Titles and Other Related Work
Of course, this isn’t Higson’s first rodeo in the world of Bond. He penned five titles in the Young Bond series between 2005 and 2008 — SilverFin, Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold, and By Royal Command — before author Steve Cole took the reins. Higson also wrote the 2023 novella On His Majesty’s Secret Service.
SilverFin has now been adapted into an audio drama by Big Finish Productions, with Isaac Rouse (The Crown Season 6) voicing the 13-year-old Bond, while Higson himself stars as his mentor Michael Merriot.
Amazon MGM Studios’ Untitled James Bond Film
Meanwhile, Higson has also talked about some of the candidates battling it out for the lead in Amazon MGM’s film reboot, which will see a new actor fill the role left behind by Daniel Craig, who starred in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).
In an interview with The Times (via NME), Higson shared his thoughts on some of the frontrunners, describing Jacob Elordi — who’s said to no longer be in the running — as “too tall”, and Callum Turner (Eternity) — who is said to still be in the race — as having “unconventional looks, no bad thing.”
As for Jack Lowden (Slow Horses), however, who has remained a rumored contender alongside Turner and Josh O’Connor (Disclosure Day), the author was unconvinced he has what it takes to play 007, saying, “I’m not sure. I like him, but it’s like when Tom Hiddleston was in the running — not a convincing hand-to-hand fighter. With Daniel Craig, you can believe him kicking the sh*t out of someone. And you’ve got to believe that with Bond.”
For now, it remains to be seen who will secure the role. Recently, Robert Pattinson (The Batman) and Nicholas Hoult (Superman, 2025) were also said to have screen-tested.
Bond 26 is being directed by Denis Villeneuve (the Dune films) and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), with Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) and David Heyman (the Harry Potter films) on board as producers.
The next actor will become the seventh to play Bond in the official film series, following Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.
Other Upcoming James Bond Projects
There are several other James Bond projects in development, including a novella from historian Dan Jones, a novel aimed at young readers, a collection of original 007 comic strip adventures, a new comic book series from IDW.
There are also plans to adapt other Young Bond novels, with the official website YoungBondAdventures.com stating, “Charlie Higson’s beloved Young Bond novels are being brought to life as a range of brand-new, full-cast audio dramas by Big Finish Productions, starting with his first adventure – SilverFin.”
King Zero is available now.
Which Bond project are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!
