Fans of secret agent James Bond haven't taken long to decide who they think is the (not so) mysterious actor playing the role in 007 First Light.
The game's new trailer, revealed at Sony's State of Play broadcast, shows off a notably younger-looking Bond, fresh out of the Royal Navy and keen to earn his 00 agent status. But who is playing the title role?
Minutes after the trailer aired, fans on reddit began guessing that Dexter: New Blood star Patrick Gibson was the behind the new Bond — and he certainly shares a strong similarity with the character in the trailer.
"I clocked it THE SECOND I saw the dirty smirk of his," wrote one 007 aficionado. "Yeah I peeped that as soon as I seen it," said another.
"Watching the trailer and knew the face looked familiar," said a third. "After about a minute or so I screamed 'DEXTER.' I'm pretty sure it's him."
Aged 30, the Irish actor is just a few years older than the 26-year-old version of Bond he looks set to portray in the upcoming game — and, if IO Interactive gets its way, several sequels.
And if Gibson looks familiar to you too, well, the actor already has a swathe of TV and film roles under his belt, including appearances in Shadow and Bone, The Tudors, and The OA. But it's his role as a younger version of Dexter Morgan in prequel series Dexter: Original Sin for which he's most famous.
Patrick Gibson. Photo by Francois G. Durand/WireImage.Curiously, 007 First Light developer IO Interactive is yet to confirm Gibson itself — though IGN has asked the studio if it can comment on the internet's speculation. Gibson also, for now, appears to keeping schtum.
A press release issued alongside Gibson's apparent debut in 007 First Light's trailer describes the game as as globe-trotting story-driven action-adventure game where you can choose how to navigate various challenges — either with brute force or 007's trademark charm.
The trailer showed Bond cracking a couple of deadpan jokes as he got himself out of (and into) trouble. Gibson's acting chops as the antihero Dexter look set to be put to good use.
007 First Light is due to launch at some point in 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. In case you missed it, here's everything announced at Sony's State of Play June 2025 showcase.
Photo by Francois G. Durand/WireImage.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
English (US) ·