an update for 007 fans

[Ken Gargett]

caught up with my 'mole' in the world of james bond films recently. needless to say, i was keen for an update.

basically, absolutely nothing decided. the response was that as a production company, they have other projects and they are front and centre at the moment. they have not turned to the next bond at all. my friend was saying that in the normal course, these days, we could expect the next film in October next year. he believes that October 2025 is much more likely (with a chance it might go out to October 2026). 

they know they got themselves in a bind with some of the stuff from the last film by killing bond. he was telling me that the director had originally planned that bond would simply put a gun to his head and finish it all that way but that the family simply said absolutely no way does bond go out like that. so they have the widow and child to deal with (and of course, how to deal with bond being dead), though one strongly suspects that they will never be seen again.

some of the other issues are will they go female - we agreed that there is no way. possibly an actor of colour. that is indeed a possibility. in any event, when they start looking for the next bond - they have a big list of potentials apparently - the money is on a bloke in his mid 30s who can sign on for multiple films (not sure you'd have to be Einstein to work that out). 

i know what is likely to appear more prominently in the next one but sworn to secrecy.

one final note. my friend has met Daniel Craig a number of times. says he is an absolutely terrific bloke. a really nice guy, good fun and quite humble. was nice to hear. 

[SCgarman]

And the anticipation continues........

[riderpride]

The optomist in me is glad the franchise came back after Moore. The pessimist expects Hollywood to shove its PCness down my throat with the next Bond casting. 

Cheers

[BrightonCorgi]

My money is on that the next bond won't be female and/or black.  Not saying that either group isn't worthy of spy franchise; just not James Bond.  The potential fall out of such a deviation could be too damaging to the franchise. 

[NSXCIGAR]

They're fools if they don't go with you, Ken. Fools. 

[Ken Gargett]

19 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

My money is on that the next bond won't be female and/or black.  Not saying that either group isn't worthy of spy franchise; just not James Bond.  The potential fall out of such a deviation could be too damaging to the franchise. 

i agree with female. would kill the franchise. a person of colour, if they got the right one i could see that. if idris elba was 25 years younger perhaps. there must be options. but i think you are probably right. 

 

4 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

They're fools if they don't go with you, Ken. Fools. 

not holding my breath.

i would love to play a bond villain. that would be fun. and seriously, could i be any worse than the wet blanket from the last film? 

[traveller]

6 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

i agree with female. would kill the franchise. a person of colour, if they got the right one i could see that. if idris elba was 25 years younger perhaps. there must be options. but i think you are probably right. 

I really can't see how having a woman as James Bond would kill the franchise, especially if they did it well and didn't make it a huge thing, but I guess they would never not make it a huge thing. In fact I would enjoy seeing a woman play that role and that would have been what my money was on.

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, traveller said:

I really can't see how having a woman as James Bond would kill the franchise, especially if they did it well and didn't make it a huge thing, but I guess they would never not make it a huge thing. In fact I would enjoy seeing a woman play that role and that would have been what my money was on.

it might make for a good movie but in a sense, that would almost be irrelevant. yes, it would be a huge thing.

for someone who has read all the books and seen all the movies, umpteen times (and yes, they would have been better off with a woman than roger moore), it would no longer be bond. instead of eagerly awaiting the next flick, and ensuring i see it day one, i'd get around to it when it hit tv. probably. it simply would no longer be bond. 

[traveller]

7 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

it might make for a good movie but in a sense, that would almost be irrelevant. yes, it would be a huge thing.

for someone who has read all the books and seen all the movies, umpteen times (and yes, they would have been better off with a woman than roger moore), it would no longer be bond. instead of eagerly awaiting the next flick, and ensuring i see it day one, i'd get around to it when it hit tv. probably. it simply would no longer be bond. 

I too read many of the books as a kid, and have watched many if not all of the Bond films and I think it would still be Bond. They do it all the time with older plays/remakes they reinterpret characters as different genders/races then were originally written or cast.

Does it take you out of it that M is a women now? 007 ostensibly is just the code name for one of the top spies at MI6 wether their name is James Bond or not. Or do you just want them to keep rehashing the same stories over and over again as they have for the past 70 years. Personally I'm tired of the same movies be remade over and over again in Hollywood, when you're on the 3rd,4th, 5th remake of the same IP, is there ever room for it to change? Or does it have to be killed off and replaced by a new spy series?

[Bill Hayes]

Maverick Top Gun storyline - The illegitimate son/daughter of James Bond. Very Hollywood thing to do. Then could be any number of racial variations. Margot Robbie as a non binary transgender Jamica Bond. Ha ha!

[Ken Gargett]

48 minutes ago, traveller said:

I too read many of the books as a kid, and have watched many if not all of the Bond films and I think it would still be Bond. They do it all the time with older plays/remakes they reinterpret characters as different genders/races then were originally written or cast.

Does it take you out of it that M is a women now? 007 ostensibly is just the code name for one of the top spies at MI6 wether their name is James Bond or not. Or do you just want them to keep rehashing the same stories over and over again as they have for the past 70 years. Personally I'm tired of the same movies be remade over and over again in Hollywood, when you're on the 3rd,4th, 5th remake of the same IP, is there ever room for it to change? Or does it have to be killed off and replaced by a new spy series?

different for different people, i guess. the various bonds have already been very different in varying degrees to fleming's original.

no issue at all with M as a woman or not. but hardly relevant - it ain't the M franchise. you can fiddle with M or Q or even Felix L or the other 00's but not bond. 

no one is killing it off - far too valuable. hence, one could also ask why they would take such a risk with something that really is so valuable.

but simply for me, bond is a bloke. if they take a different direction (and i reckon they are 1,000 to 1 against doing it because they are not idiots), it will no longer be the bond i know and enjoy. just another film series. might be great films but something about making that change and jumping the shark springs to mind. 

[SCgarman]

13 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

different for different people, i guess. the various bonds have already been very different in varying degrees to fleming's original.

no issue at all with M as a woman or not. but hardly relevant - it ain't the M franchise. you can fiddle with M or Q or even Felix L or the other 00's but not bond. 

no one is killing it off - far too valuable. hence, one could also ask why they would take such a risk with something that really is so valuable.

but simply for me, bond is a bloke. if they take a different direction (and i reckon they are 1,000 to 1 against doing it because they are not idiots), it will no longer be the bond i know and enjoy. just another film series. might be great films but something about making that change and jumping the shark springs to mind. 

Regardless of what happens Ken, it has been a great run of movies since 1962 ( I was born in '66) and I have for the most part enjoyed all of them. Pretty sure nobody could ever have foreseen the franchise lasting 60 years. 

[HuffnPuffff]

Firstly, Ken thanks for a great thread and your insights!

As someone who bought a case of magnums of the Bollinger 007 release and planned a cigar friendly screening of the latest Bond to smash through the magnums, I really struggled with the long wait!

To throw a cat amongst the pigeons (and seeing as we’re FOH) I would have no problem if the next Bond were a female Cuban who fled Cuba as a teenager and emigrated to the UK via the US. Perhaps her (British) absent father was MI6 station chief of Jamaica and got tangled up with a Cuban beauty on a cigar buying trip to Havana?
Estranged British father got killed in the line of duty by xyz. Mum drowned escaping Cuba. Etc etc.
Perhaps played by a younger Eva Mendez?

I’d also like to see Felix Lighter being played by Arnie, with Stalone in a walk/on scene as a bell-boy or something like that. Can’t beat a good, short, low-key cameo.

I get the feeling that the Bond franchise has novated from being a British film to being a transatlantic one, in the same way that the Italian job was remade and Oceans 11 had both US and some Euro appeal.
Let’s keep that going but stick some stirringly British actors in (Colin Firth as an Uber driver?, and a decent Scot). What about Jason Statham as a cameo security guard at MI5. Or the bar tender at a bar that Bond goes to?
It would be great to have a Bond movie that was full of famous, great actors. Imagine DeNiro as the waiter in an Italian restaurant?!? If the Bond family can’t afford to do that, who can??

I personally feel that the Bond movies have done somethings very well and some things very badly.

At its best, the Bond movie franchise is a perfect mix of cool and fun. Generally they’ve tried to tap into the sentiment of the age.
Hopefully the powers that be hit upon a great mix that appeals to many, retains the spirit of the concept, and distinguishes itself from the other movies out there.
Worst case scenario is that they try to follow the crowd and just become another generic movie trying too hard to appeal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ken Gargett]

8 hours ago, HuffnPuffff said:

Firstly, Ken thanks for a great thread and your insights!

As someone who bought a case of magnums of the Bollinger 007 release and planned a cigar friendly screening of the latest Bond to smash through the magnums, I really struggled with the long wait!

To throw a cat amongst the pigeons (and seeing as we’re FOH) I would have no problem if the next Bond were a female Cuban who fled Cuba as a teenager and emigrated to the UK via the US. Perhaps her (British) absent father was MI6 station chief of Jamaica and got tangled up with a Cuban beauty on a cigar buying trip to Havana?
Estranged British father got killed in the line of duty by xyz. Mum drowned escaping Cuba. Etc etc.
Perhaps played by a younger Eva Mendez?

I’d also like to see Felix Lighter being played by Arnie, with Stalone in a walk/on scene as a bell-boy or something like that. Can’t beat a good, short, low-key cameo.

I get the feeling that the Bond franchise has novated from being a British film to being a transatlantic one, in the same way that the Italian job was remade and Oceans 11 had both US and some Euro appeal.
Let’s keep that going but stick some stirringly British actors in (Colin Firth as an Uber driver?, and a decent Scot). What about Jason Statham as a cameo security guard at MI5. Or the bar tender at a bar that Bond goes to?
It would be great to have a Bond movie that was full of famous, great actors. Imagine DeNiro as the waiter in an Italian restaurant?!? If the Bond family can’t afford to do that, who can??

I personally feel that the Bond movies have done somethings very well and some things very badly.

At its best, the Bond movie franchise is a perfect mix of cool and fun. Generally they’ve tried to tap into the sentiment of the age.
Hopefully the powers that be hit upon a great mix that appeals to many, retains the spirit of the concept, and distinguishes itself from the other movies out there.
Worst case scenario is that they try to follow the crowd and just become another generic movie trying too hard to appeal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

one of the great things about bond films (not so much the books as they are set in stone - and how much you want the films to reflect the books varies hugely between people) is how they can have so many fans and yet engender so much debate and argument about everything related to them. and yet we are all fans. i mean, the semi-regular post about the best bond actually sees some people nominate roger moore? but this is all part of the fun. 

personally, i think if they include anything you have suggested (well, perhaps other than the younger eva mendez), i would be beyond mortified. but whether they go my route or yours, we'll both watch (well, grudgingly and only eventually if they go female). 

i think the films are basically international now but as bond is British, that kind of limits it. but they have sort of followed your suggestion in that he had a swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, of the Canton de Vaud. his father is a little more blurry (this is from Fleming's books, of course), being a Scottish farmer who also worked for the Vickers armaments company. 

one thing if i may. surely your very suggestions - all the endless cameos - is the very definition of a generic movie trying too hard to appeal. for me, that would be going back to the bad old days of Moore and having bond in a gorilla suit and so on. 

but more than ever before, they are in a position where they can go in any direction. the only thing that is guaranteed is that whatever decision they announce, a great many 007 fans will scream blue murder. and that will be before they even see the next flick. 

 

 

[hawkeye5050]

An American, so that might rule him out but if you’ve seen Tenet, John Washington is the only person where I said to myself, “He can be Bond.”

if you have not seen Tenet, watch it twice. You get a taste of what he could be as Bond. Just like Craig in Layer Cake. At Eon’s pace though he may age out.

Personally, I hope the next Bond doesn’t address the Craig era any more than than Lazenby saying something like “this never happened to the other fella”. 

[JohnS]

I concur. After seeing John David Washington's performance in Tenet, he would make a great James Bond. He's also a younger than another great candidate, Idris Elba.

[cgoodrich]

Allow me to opine…

M is the head of MI6, and it doesn’t matter what gender or race of the person that is tapped to head MI6. The best person to serve the position is the one who sits behind the desk making the tough decisions.

Bond is Bond. He is male, retired Commander of Royal Navy Reserves, and although he was created as being Caucasian, I see no issue with him being a different race.

I personally have a problem with killing James Bond, only to bring him back alive with a new actor. I never had issue with the changing of the actor. You have to take into account the actor’s age, therefore he must change as long as they keep the franchise going. Killing off Daniel Craig tells me there is no more James Bond.

As you recall in No Time to Die, the title of 007 was given to Nomi until she relinquished it back to James Bond. I would have no problem with the franchise bringing her back as 007. 007 is an agent’s title, not a particular person. Or perhaps they could do one better. 007 could be Mathilde Bond, the daughter of James and Madeleine Swann. The child grows up with her mother’s stories of her father, and follows in his footsteps.

Just my 2¢…

[Boxer31]

Did not like that they killed off Bond, but like to see next 007 be a young no name actor (male) in the mold of Craig. Actually ended up liking him just as much as Connery. The other bonds just weren’t realistic.   Only female might be Rebecca Ferguson from MI series, she was pretty good with Cruise. 

[Ford2112]

If they make 007 a woman I'm tapping out. I can always watch From Russia With Love and Goldfinger  over and over again.

[BrightonCorgi]

8 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

If they make 007 a woman I'm tapping out. I can always watch From Russia With Love and Goldfinger  over and over again.

We have an 24-7 James Bond channel with our TV service.

[cigcars]

On 6/3/2023 at 8:49 PM, Boxer31 said:

Did not like that they killed off Bond, but like to see next 007 be a young no name actor (male) in the mold of Craig. Actually ended up liking him just as much as Connery. The other bonds just weren’t realistic.   Only female might be Rebecca Ferguson from MI series, she was pretty good with Cruise. 

     *I was absolutely undone when the 3rd movie in the Brian Singer X-Men movies killed Prof. Xavier and Cyclops. That was TOTALLY screwed up. It was no movie anymore. Yet  - in the ensuing movies they brought back Xavier. They've killed Christoper Lee's Hammer film Dracula 3,000 times and he came back. If they like their franchise and want to keep things within reason they can always have some young, acceptable to everyone Bond come back and claim to have "appeared" to be dead and resume his usual duties. The western movies franchised do it all the time. The box office decides life or death for a character.

[Ken Gargett]

4 hours ago, therealrsr said:

@Ken Gargett and anyone else, how would you order the actors?  Your Roger Moore comment made me laugh out loud.  

Mine: 

Sean Connery(the OG)

Daniel Craig(stellar portrayal)

Pierce Brosnan(some good acting with mediocre directing)

George Lazenby(believable in the one role)

David Niven(I know not "the" franchise, but as Flemming's vision an honorable mention)

Roger Moore(mediocre acting with mostly good directing)

Timothy Dalton(complete tool)

 

 

first, John, if i may. idris elba has missed his chance. too old. could have been a good one. 

for the list (leaving out niven for obvious reasons).

connery - as the original, he had the advantage but still nailed it. 

craig - agree. stellar. had he been first, i think he'd be even more popular. he and connery are streets ahead of the rest. even Quantum, that was by far his worst, but put that down to the directing. appalling. all over the place. if you watch Quantum but either take out or fast forward through the chaotic fight scenes which are done so badly - half the time, you have no idea who is even involved - it is not a bad film and craig is fine. 

i'd have Dalton and Lazenby around par for the next. i think Dalton hugely underrated. was certainly the best "actor" at that stage. was largely historical dramas etc. probably suffered more from the scripts and directing than almost any of them. 

Brosnan - for me, i thought he started very poorly but got better each film. but the early one or two, for james bond, he made a good remington steele. 

moore. started okay i thought. actually better than okay but then took the franchise into farce. whether that was him or the family or the directors, he should have said no. james bond does not dress in a gorilla suit or pretend to be a clown. for me, the low point of the franchise by a mile. 

[Ford2112]

The Spy Who Loved me was the best of the Moore movies. Maybe because he was the bond of my youth I'm more forgiving. I do agree Connery 1, Craig 2. It got super schlock with Moonraker and Octopussy . They can never Replace Q or Money penny. 

[Chibearsv]

I think Charlie Hunnam would make a great Bond. 

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, Ford2112 said:

The Spy Who Loved me was the best of the Moore movies. Maybe because he was the bond of my youth I'm more forgiving. I do agree Connery 1, Craig 2. It got super schlock with Moonraker and Octopussy . They can never Replace Q or Money penny. 

agree Q and Moneypenny. interesting thing about lois maxwell who played her for so long. she did not want that role. she tried for silvia trench who was played by Eunice grayson? passed away recently. was a small role in the first two films - in a casino and then bond's rooms and then on a riverbank.