Callum Turner has addressed “loaded” questions about his potential future as James Bond.

The British actor is among the frontrunners rumoured to be taking up the coveted 007 mantle after Daniel Craig retired his tuxedo back in 2021, with George Clooney even throwing his support behind the Capture star.

Alongside names such as Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi and Slow Horses’ Jack Lowden, Turner is said to be one of the actors that casting director Nina Gold has her eye on since she began her search in May.

The actor – who married pop star Dua Lipa in a lavish Italian ceremony in June – was once again asked about the rumours in a recent interview with Esquire.

“I’m not going to comment on that either,” he said, after also declining to speak at length about his nuptials this summer.

“I don’t know anything, so I can’t comment. There’s nothing for me to comment on.”

Pressed on the media reports from earlier this year that claimed he had been selected for the role, Turner repeated the same answer, stating: “There’s nothing for me to comment on, and I think it’s best just to not say anything.”

Turner again replied with the same answer when the interviewee suggested that people believe he is a “charming actor who would be good in a role that people love”, responding: “I just know I’m not going to comment on it just because there’s no point in commenting on it in this moment.”

Asked where he would want the role if it was offered to him, the actor said: “I’m not going to comment. It’s just so loaded, it’s just such a loaded thing.”

Despite Turner’s reticence on the subject, the interviewee notes that the short answers were always given in good humour.

He did stray from his “no comment” answer, however, when the interviewee noted that he would make a good 007, stating: “I appreciate that.”

Someone who is not a fan of this casting, however, is casting director Debbie McWilliams who shaped the franchise for four decades, having cast Craig, Pierce Brosnan, and Timothy Dalton.

According to McWilliams, Turner is too famous for the part – and while he was the most talked-about contender earlier this year, another name has since emerged as the favourite: Jack Lowden.

Podcaster and author Richard Osman claimed he had heard the Dunkirk star is “being strongly considered” for the role.

“It is definitively not a ‘he’s definitely got it’ thing. He is definitely being strongly considered. I think he'd be amazing,” said Osman on The Rest is Entertainment.

Fans of the spy franchise have been waiting years for the announcement of the next Bond, ever since Craig’s swan song in 2021’s No Time To Die. They will have to wait a little longer still, with producer Amy Pascal revealing earlier this month that they are likely to have a name by the end of the year.

“I would say the end of the year is a good bet,” 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.”

She added that MGM – the Amazon-owned company that took creative control over the franchise from co-owner Broccoli last year – are taking the process very seriously.

“And it's got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different,” Pascal said.

The next Bond film is set to be directed by Dune’s Denis Villeneuve, with Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight penning the script.