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This is extortion.
That's what the second E in SPECTRE stands for, after all.
you got a point.
Tom Holland may be ideal for the part. Right height.
;))
There's probably going to be a set piece in Dubai, where a woman influencer Bond bedded misses her plane and his kidnapped and left for dead and Bond goes on revenge against sons of russian oligarchs. This kind of stuff.
I can't possibly see them going any other way. They need to grab the elusive Gen Z attention span (good luck). It's going to be a radical change, but then Bond always evolved with the times. What I'm not sure is how Villeneuve will handle the humor.
I can't see Villeneuve doing a Roger Moore type Bond film. 🤭 Not really his style. But hey, anything is possible. 😉
His favorite Bond films are CR and SF.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_of_the_worlds_2025
I would agree that a Bond film that largely takes place on computer screens chock-full of Amazon product placement, starring Ice Cube and directed by a first time director would be the worst case scenario.
On the other hand Disney made the sequel trilogy and The Acolyte, but they also made The Mandalorian and Andor. A studio is capable of making both bad and good stuff.
Of course. Let's not forget that the producers of CR also gave us DAD.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/disney-curse-streaming-hurt-marvel-130000139.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMqrRIy2viI_a3fk1Jo71wv_afNzi-TYPXpvw-PIn3zAm0t_BCxt_9doSvJkjuCaKl3wlyGr0h6FfsHxD1Wnwh7QKrlLID9WEVaEcraZQLxyJWg6LXP3Bcdg6gaxIAaQOkGFQpEQegpyXFARRjpVhx4e0ik2vG-uS6h1EhFVjCUG
I suppose the question is: what is a ‘very good movie’ in this case? Don’t get me wrong, I think one of Amazon’s tasks is creating something that ultimately feels like and is fundamentally a Bond film. They need to make the best film they can. But as has been the case throughout this franchise such a movie can come in many different forms, and another task of theirs isn’t just creating that Bond film but reinventing the character for a new era. Often there are disparances between what fans think and how these movies are received more broadly too, so to some extent I’m not sure how much it matters if some fans feel alienated, and in many cases it can’t be avoided (ie. It didn’t matter back in ‘05 that some fans took a disliking to Craig being cast and felt ‘alienated’. It’s a big fanbase with different incarnations of this character, and not all of us are going to enjoy Bond 26).
That'll probably be the first time we actually get an idea of how fan-pleasing they're setting out to be: the producers and directors have all gone a few ways when it comes to that, and although I'd consider Knight's appointment to be pretty fan-pleasing (in that he's made material which is pretty Bond-adjacent in terms of content and mood) I also can't bring to mind any time he's worked on existing IP so I don't know how he'll go. When we see 007 himself I guess we'll get our first inkling of intent.
I think ultimately though it’ll come down to which actor just ‘gets’ what they’re trying to do, and in theory they might explore different avenues (so who knows - perhaps that unknown 28 year old could become Bond, or that actor who’s only appeared in British tv/theatre, and with a role like Bond it could work. I can even see someone a bit more up and coming who we’ve missed/will show up in more tv/films in the next year or so getting it). But even then I have an easier time believing one of those more established actors would have more to contribute creatively in this sense. They might even already have an actor in mind and will try to convince them to take the role.
I agree. Amazon will not go with an unknown (everyone learned that lesson with Lazenby which was a terrible business decision as he refused to do more films), although ironically that decision gave us arguably the best Bond film.
The reaction they won’t want is ‘great film, weak Bond’. No one wants that, although it’d very much be an OHMSS situation. It’s not ideal though.
Yes I think you're right. It's less about Cubby picking a new unknown guy to wear a tux, this is the lead in a Denis Villeneuve film, and he's pretty much always had stars in his movies. It might not be Chalamet, but I reckon it'll be someone around where he was a few years ago; good actor, has been in quality, maybe indie films- prestige as you say. Dickinson, Turner, O'Connor etc. feel in the right ballpark; I just don't think it's going to be someone off the telly who's done a straight-to-streaming SAS cheapo flick for Sky or something. I don't think he's going to look exactly like the Bond archetype, out of the Brosnan/Dalton machine tall-dark-and -handsome machine, but he'll be a good, quality actor. And we'll likely have trouble picturing him as Bond to begin with.
I suppose it's also worth saying we're in the post Daniel Craig era of Bond. I don't believe the next actor will be in his shadow, but we take for granted sometimes that for all the controversy surrounding his casting, Craig was an established character actor who'd been in some high profile films and had a good bit of critical acclaim under his belt. There was this sense that Bond was being played by a high quality actor, albeit one who had the charisma of a movie star. I suppose the most comparable Bond would be Dalton in this sense, although I reckon Craig's pre-Bond output with things like Munich, Layer Cake, Tomb Raider and Road to Perdition gave him a bit more of an edge. After such a Bond it's difficult to imagine they'd downgrade to the straight to streaming SAS commando guy, or honestly even an actor who's been on a few obscure BBC shows and not much else.
I guess another element to that is James Bond was quite starkly reinvented in Craig's era. Obviously each Bond is unique and has very noticeable differences even while playing the same character fundamentally. But another thing I think we take for granted is just how much of a shift CR and Craig's take on Bond were. While I don't think Craig was quite that distinct from the typical image of Bond as some claim, even in terms of his looks his harder edged, more rugged appearance was part of that. Bond didn't need to look like a male model. If the next actor has some sort of minor deviation from the tall dark and handsome model mould (the sort of thing we dwell upon here sometimes - bigger ears, looking a bit 'blokeish' etc) that wouldn't even be that far away from what many people recognise as James Bond anyway. Or it'd be part of another reinvention of the character, albeit one that should stay true to who Bond is.
Even I can't see that! Stranger things have happened though.
Funnily enough, I wonder if Connery might even have been the most comparable in a way, in terms of his pre-Bond work. He did a few bits of fluff like a Brit caper movie or two, and Disney leprechaun stuff, but he was also doing fairly hard-hitting dramas like Hell Drivers and proper adult plays on TV. Dalton has the reputation of being the RSC Bond, but really he was doing any old crap on TV and film: Charlie's Angels, that weird Mae West comedy film, Brenda Starr; he basically said yes to anything (although, yes, doing Taming of the Shrew in London when he got the Bond gig). Y'know: I love Dr Who, but it's perhaps not one of the most prestigious things around, and only one of the Bonds has appeared in it! :D
You're right, I think those who grew up with Craig as Bond will probably have less trouble with a new one not looking exactly the same as those of us who grew up thinking 007 had to look like the Milk Tray Man.
I think Bond needs to be tough now, in a way that perhaps Pierce and Roger don't quite personify. Maybe not as doublehard as Craig was; I guess you can look at Ethan Hunt, who isn't as outwardly rugged as CraigBond, but can believably handle himself.
I actually don't think I'd have a problem with that.
He’d be one of my picks.
Wouldn’t have a problem with it.