Jewish Hollywood heavyweights ‘embracing the challenge’ of producing next James Bond film

"It's early days,” Heyman said of the project. “I think we have a magnificent director, a wonderful writer. And it's great to be working with Amy Pascal as a partner on this odyssey."

Heyman, who produced all eight Harry Potter films, as well as the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is the grandson of German Jews who fled the Nazis and emigrated to the UK. Speaking to the  Jewish Journal in 2019, he revealed that his grandfather, Heinz Heyman, a broadcaster based in Leipzig, was one of the last announcers to speak out against Hitler, in early 1933. He also shared that his grandmother, a passionate supporter of Israel, took him to visit relatives in the Jewish state every year from when he was aged six to 12.

Pascal, best known for her work on the Spider-Man franchise, joined Heyman at the London Film Festival on Friday for the premiere of their new film, Jay Kelly, at the Royal Festival Hall, where they discussed collaborating on the upcoming Bond film for the first time.

Born to a Jewish family in Los Angeles, Pascal has been included in the Hollywood Reporter’s annual “women in entertainment power list” and Forbes’ ranking of the world's 100 most powerful women. After spending over two decades at Sony and Columbia Pictures, producing popular films such as Skyfall (the first Bond film to gross over $1bn at the box office worldwide), Superbad, and The Equalizer, she formed her own production company Pascal Pictures in 2016.

Of the task they face to uphold the iconic status of the James Bond franchise, Heyman said: "It's a tall order. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson did such a remarkable job over the years."

Jewish actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is among the actors tipped to play the new 007.