The James Bond Thread

Continued from this thread:

I know they won't cast him because he's openly gay, but Luke Evans would make a good Bond and can fill out a bathing suit as well as Daniel Craig!

Yes, Luke Evans has become my favorite too. ^

Luke Evans could never look this good as Bond.

And to be honest, Idris Elba is a great choice too. He has the swagger, looks and acting chops to do it, the only drawback is his age. He would be stuck playing Bond well into his 50s.

I'll repeat what I said in the last thread. Olivia Coleman for M.

r4, I think they both look good

@r4 Thank you, I might just be moving closer to team Elba after all.

I don't think Fiennes needs to be replaced and Elba is a far better choice than Luke Evans.

James Norton...surprised that he was not mentioned...

...or even Tom Bateman, although he is a bit twee acting

Bateman is a dish

Mahershala

Well r11, he looks like Mary on Downton Abby.

Mahershala Ali as James Bond would be Epic!

He’s American. Brits only, damnit!

Idris is great but old sorry

Sean Connery didn't want to be typecast as James Bond. Is that less of a worry these days?

It's interesting all the publications and sites keep talking about diversity and Black, Asian and women actors, none have ever brought up the subject of an openly gay actor playing Bond, no they won't even go there.

I guess "diversity" in show business is an exclusively heterosexual diversity.

Also Moore looked great for 45, while Elba looks a fair bit older than 47.

I wonder if it’s the gray hairs that makes Elba look older, maybe coloring it black would take a decade off.

Please. The only thing making Idris look old is when he lets the gray show. When he dyes everything (like Roger Moore had been doing since his 30’s), he doesn’t look 50.

A black James Bond couldn't do any car chases in the US, because the cops would be on his ass and shoot him point blank.

I would love to see Idris Elba as Bond. So far I haven't been disappointed by any of the Bonds, but Connery will always remain my favorite. Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me are my two all-time favorite Bond films.

I hope there will be a re-release of the James Bond blu-ray set as I hated the last design with the minimalist white cover.

R15 he would be a great choice. If only he were British!!!

I hope they do improve on Skyfall. It was a snooze with none of the Bond flair.

Skyfall was a snooze? Are you sure we’re talking about the same movie?

Idris Elba is looks rough. He looks every bit his age or older. Henry Cavill needs the role.

I think the first three Bourne movies are vastly superior to the Bond films. I think they need a younger Bond. 30-35. Maybe even an origins story. In fact I think an origins story would be really good to pull in a younger audience to start their journey with the Bond franchise.

DL fave Ben Barnes wants the job very much.

ALL of the actors who have played 007 since 1962 are GAY GAY GAY!

Ben is too femme and delicate.

oh god r29, an origin story? Because that's what younger audiences like, there have been three Spider-Man origin stories so far.

Well, I never said that he'd GET the job, R32. I said that he wants the job. I'd be fine with it; I want to see a return to fun, elegant, Roger Moore-style Bond. I'm thoroughly over all films being grimdark all the time. If we could have a gay or bi Bond, so much the better.

Travis Fimmel

Mahershala is a great choice if he can do the accent it doesn't matter he's British or not

It’s bad enough that they’ll be flipping their shit over the fact that he’s black. He better at least be British.

So outraged by all these British actors you're naming for the role of the upper class, Scottish born, half Swiss, Old Etonian James Bond. It's SO unfair that Samuel L Jackson is not even being considered for the role, just because he's American

The character, James Bond, isn't some young twink...he's mature, knows how he likes his martinis has great taste and is physically fit enough to take care of himself. A touch of gray adds sophistication. Idris Elba is British, can imitate aspirations to be British Upper class...and he has the accent. He's perfect!

Well put, R39.

R10 - Norton was mentioned and discussed.

To R602 (I think it was 602) - Meg is an outsider - a white outsider; but the theme of the book is the problem of evil. All children in classic children's lit are working out a personal problem: if you read E. Nesbit, Stevenson, Hodgson Burnett, there's always a personal problem for the protagonist - you can't frame a story without a protagonist you can relate to on a personal level. But it isn't the primary theme of the book; but it became the primary theme of the film. The strain of the film trying overlay the original with its own "updated" point of view destroyed the original's gestalt. It happens all the time.

The Man In The Orange Shirt's Oliver Jackson Cohen. Perfection.

"It's interesting all the publications and sites keep talking about diversity and Black, Asian and women actors, none have ever brought up the subject of an openly gay actor playing Bond, no they won't even go there."

A lot of people have suggested Luke Evans as a potential Bond

Like certainly has the mature look and swag to pull it off.

I don't want to sound racist, as I am not. But Bond as written had an Upper Class education which even if he was there on someone else's dime, he would not be there as someone of African descent. If we are going to consider someone atypical of the past Bond actors, then Henry Golding, the male lead of Crazy Rich Asians would be amazing, especially with his British Accent.

I haven't seen CRA except for the trailer and he doesn't impress, sad to say. Maybe the movie will be better.

[quote]I don't want to sound racist,

Better luck next time.

[quote] A lot of people have suggested Luke Evans as a potential Bond

I don't care for his squinty eyes.

[QUOTE]I don't want to sound racist, as I am not. But Bond as written had an Upper Class education which even if he was there on someone else's dime, he would not be there as someone of African descent.

Does Daniel Craig’s Bond strike you as someone who came from an upper class education? The fuck are you on about?

R41 thinks a book can only explore one theme (still not convinced she's actually read the book) and R45 thinks darkies can't get an "Upper Class education."

These trolls aren't even interesting.

Let's just discuss Christian Cooke's ass and James Norton's DSL.

If the character is fictional and not bound to any one type of person why does it have to be a British or Irish actor to play him? Why can't they be Spanish, America, French, German or from where ever? What can't an openly gay actor play this guy? That would really open up the field ensuring they get the best actor to play Bond.

[quote] The fuck are you on about?

WHAT the fuck are you on about?

[QUOTE]WHAT the fuck are you on about?

What the fuck are YOU on about?

[quote] What the fuck are YOU on about?

Nothing. The word "What" was missing from that last sentence at R49. I just fixed it.

The character IS bound to a specific type r51. As written he is white, Scots/Swiss, educated at Eton and Fettes - both very upper class schools. As presented the character is white, mid to late thirties, upper class RP accent and heterosexual. The character was based on real people the author knew from his days in the intelligence service.

The very detailed backstory is well known and to deviate from that would be ridiculous.

Elba must want the part a lot, he is really stoking up fans and the UK media, which are in turn painting Eon into a corner, suggesting anyone who doesn't want Elba to be Bond is racist. While I'm not against an Anglo African-Caribbean Bond or an Asian Bond or any actor right for the part, I don't think Elba is right for Bond. But he is creating such a fuss that if he doesn't get it, whoever the next Bond is, will be torn apart by press.

He should have the class to keep quiet and stop this attention seeking twitter nonsense, at least until Craig has officially retired from the part. But Elba seems to have a massive ego and is all about Elba.

Put a sock in it. This whole Bond thing has practically turned him into a mythical figure. You can’t buy this kind of publicity. He knows they won’t make him Bond, so he’s taking advantage and soaking up all the fame. Why keep quiet when the attention could land him a good role?

I think you maybe overestimating it; all the press coverage is UK, the US and European press don't give a shit.

R49 - actually, yet, his Eton-Oxford education is mentioned early in Casino Royale.

The actor himself is another matter. The two most successful Bonds, Connery and Craig, are out of the working-class Great Unwashed.

It's acting.

Billy Howle

Domhnall Gleeson

Yes, Bond is a fictionalized character with all the British upper class affectations. Even Connery said he came from such a vastly different background, that he was slightly intimidated; nonetheless, he carried it off so well that we are spoiled when it comes to accepting different actors as Bond.

I might add that in real life there are many black Britons who come from the upper class...they acquired many of the affectations of the British upper class....not suggesting they are white Britons; but again their education, and finesse were authentic. Fictionalized characters in the old British film Sapphire shed light on black Britons from these circles. Paul Danquah played a black sailor in the 1961 British film A Taste of Honey. Though he played a sailor, he was clearly among the British upper class, his father was a barrister and one of the Founders of Ghana and Ghana's independence. He also had a very wealthy British lover and after acting became a barrister . He worked in International Affairs s and the World Bank in DC. Very handsome guy. Just food for thought,,,don't look now, but a Jane Bond is on the horizon.

R51 - a character being fictional doesn't imply that said character owes nothing to the race, gender, and culture the author who created him placed him in. Othello is a fictional character, too - but look at the flak about the long list of white actors who have played him. Porgy in Porgy & Bess is a fictional character, too - but no white bass-baritone has a snowball's chance in hell of ever singing the part, not least because the Gershwin Estate mandated that the opera only be performed by black singers. Hamlet is fictional - but he's the medieval Heir to the throne of Denmark in the 1300s. The idea that he could just as well be black as anything else is ludicrous, and Hamlet's gender gives him his place in the hierarchy, and his race is part of the culture that shaped Denmark.

The fact is, colour-blind casting only runs in one direction, and that's the problem.

And Elba is too old for the role - he'd start filming at 50 and end nearing 60. Were I an actress of any colour, I'd be bitter and outraged.

Why don't they start looking for the actor to play Easy Rawlins, Walter Moseley's black detective in 1940s L.A. The first film in 1995 was too ahead of time; now, a hot young black actor could turn this series into the hit it deserves to be and as it was written by a black man for a black man (actually, Moseley is mixed race, but . . .).

It's time to start turning to the body of work building up for black actors and pushing those forward, because the whole Bond discussion tells you already that the role will never be Elba's, not really, the way it was Connery's and Craig's.

R47, Fuck off. I am not racist, but can't stand stupid people who miss the obvious. Elba's people are clearly stoking these flames. You type like you have a colostomy bag. R49, Daniel Craig strikes me as someone who was there on someone else's dime. See the train scene in Casino Royale with Eva Green.

R64 - Yes, I remember the scene in the train in Casino Royale; but it's Eva Green's guess and 007 never confirms it - you never get an answer. His background is very clearly given in Fleming's original and by that reckoning he's not there on someone else's dime - but either way, it's still a posh education.

Doesn't 007 have a First in Oriental Languages, before heading into the Navy, or am I misremembering?

R57 - Agree - Elba probably knows that at his age, he's actually not likely to get it, but that's no reason not to use the rumours to raise his international profile - especially given his line of failures at opening big-screen films. The financial realities of that kind of chance were posted on the earlier thread - Skyfall - made $880 million worldwide, cost $300 million to make =$580 million in profits. Taking a chance on a 50 year old whose never successfully opened a film? Think not.

We're talking about Big Money here. That's the place to look, not esoteric discussions about hotness quotient, height, colour, etc.

Craig knew that he only had Casino Royale in which to nail it or they'd have thrown him in the Thames off that police boat he showed up to the first photocall in. And I mean the first ten minute of the film. When I saw it on first release, I thought he did just that: nailed it in the opening black and white portion, with the violent scene in the men's washroom. His appeal lies in ruthless intensity, and that's what he nailed those early scenes with.

Elba or any other new Bond will have to do the same thing.

Christian Cooke is hot

Christian Cooke is wet.

(and I'm glad that crazed fan isn't here proposing that raf-faced Riz Ahmed should be cast as Bond)

^ agreed, I keep coming back to Cavill as the most suitable for the role. I think DL has a bias against him (and likes to pretend that it’s about his lack of acting chops, rather than the predictable animus directed towards ANY DL favorite who fails to “come out”) that doesn’t really seem to exist anywhere else. Wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the role. In the end.

R68 R66 - Look, Cavill is a stick of wood as an actor. He did all right in the recent Mission Impossible film, but no better than all right - Rebecca Ferguson and Tom Cruise left more of an impression (that's not to disrespect Ferguson as she is a fine actress, but she was hardly the lead here). Cavill would be George Lazenby all over again. Even the tall, dark, and handsome Timothy Dalton couldn't make it work.

Bond needs something more than tall, dark, handsome, and British.

I'm not biased against him because he won't come out, I'm biased against him because he's an indifferent actor without a single memorable bone in his persona.

Cavill as a bisexual Bond would be earth shattering.

Henry Cavill stans, go away

Edward Holcroft

R36: Of course it matters, people are a little tired of americans getting everything. J K Rowling did the right thing when she stopped the studio from getting an all american cast

Paddy O'Brian IS Naked Bond!

R74 - Odd, all I hear are complaints about how British actors are moving in on everything because they will work for less, given the crap they make at home. I don't know anything about casting conflicts for the Potter films (I'm a bit old for them, although when I finally saw them I did find them well done and charming). But far from getting an "all-American" cast, so far as I can tell, the cast is entirely British - I can't think of a single American actor in a major role in the Potter films. Why in God's name would the studio have tried to get an "all-American" cast for a work that billions of rabid fans quintessentially understood and experienced as British-born, British-imagined?! The studio would have been crucified if they changed so much as a single plot line - you're asking me to believe that the studio wanted only American actors set in an English railroad station, the English countryside, a London tea shop and London public telephone booths and loos, and an English castle??!!

Can you provide a link to the information that the studio "wanted" an "all-American" cast?

I'd watch pron Bond!!!

Skyfall sucked, so yes.

I'm in agreement that Skyfall was a ridiculous movie, as far as the plotting goes. Bardem was okay as the villain but there were so many ludicrous moments that the whole movie was spoiled.

If there's one thing I hate is the stupids suggesting inane choices for Bond like Cavill, who can't act, or Angelina Jolie as a female Bond, who... well, let's just leave it there. The morons have invaded the stadium! Also, auteur directors like Boyle and Nolan and Tarantino wouldn't work precisely because they're way too personal and the Bond films are produced by committee (the Broccolis, Sony, etc.) So please, please, PLEASE stop suggesting idiotic changes like a lesbian Bond or Ingmar Bergman for Bond. This is serious shit for us Bond superfans. And now I'm going to go take a tranquilizer.

Bond should never be anything but a White dude from an old crusty rich family in England because that's how the story goes, PERIOD. I totally love Idris, I think he's a great actor, has swagger and is incredibly hot. I'd love to see him play an agent LIKE Bond, but his casting would make as much sense as casting an Asian or a Latino or a woman as Bond.

I do think Idris is sex on a stick, but he may be too old to enter the franchise now. Also, the fact that the movie he headlined with Kate Winslet was a flop didn’t help to advance his chances.

While it’s not part of the canon and never addressed in the films, I’m in the camp that thinks “James Bond 007” is just the pseudonym assigned to the top secret agent. I don’t think they need to be overt in addressing or explaining it in the films. Just a shot of M at her desk as 007 enters, she looks up and says something like “Oh James, I was just reviewing one of your predecessors files...” and camera pans to her closing the file but not before we see the picture of Connery or Lazenby or Moore or whoever. Done. No need to address it again.

As for the next Bond, I could see Luke Evans in the role. In the #metoo era, I don’t see how Bond could the lothario, love ‘em and leave ‘em type anymore - or least not right now.

Regarding diversity, if the franchise really wants to go there, I think an Indian or Pakistani British actor would work. Someone like Naveen Andrews could pull it off - I say “like” because I think Naveen is too old now for the role like Idris.

I will say no to a woman Bond. I just can’t get behind it, can’t see it.

Olivia Coleman or the actress who played Hilda in “Foyle’s War” would make a great M!

Naveen Andrews? Stop.

"Bond should never be anything but a White dude from an old crusty rich family in England because that's how the story goes, PERIOD."

Connery is Scottish and from a working class background, people didn't have a problem with that

R83 - I said “like him” in that he has or least can pull off the right accent, can present as posh. I don’t want Naveen per se, but he was the only Indian or Pakistani British actor with the accent, posh appeal I could think of. Honestly, in my experience doing business in London for many years now, there are far more Indian/Pakistani Brits who come out of Oxbridge and work in the City than Black British. Perhaps that’s impacted my opinion.

I may be wrong R84, but I think the poster you quote was speaking of the character, not the actors who have/will play him. I don’t think any of the actors who played Bond come from a posh background, but the character does, and the actor needs to be able to pull that off.

Well, Connery doesn't come off as posh on the screen, either.

The actress who played Hilda on Foyle's War was indeed great. She was just on Endeavour, playing a slightly similar role too. Im not sure she is any younger than Judi Dench though. Olivia Coleman would be wonderful.

I would loooooove to see Jamie Bell as Bond.

We’ll have to agree to disagree R86. He’s definitely not his real life self in manner or speech as Bond as he was tutored in speech and mannerisms to pull off the posh Bond. The tutoring was partly successful, but Connery’s success in the role owes more to his physicality and sexual allure than embodying the posh aspect of Bond.

I just looked her up R87 - her name is Ellie Haddington and she’s only 63! I would have thought her older too. I saw the Endeavor episode and thought her casting was brilliant.

R81 - White dude from a crusty old rich family from Scotland. Bond is of Scottish-Swiss parentage. Did you miss the Scottish highlands behind the family seat in "Skyfall"?

Jamie Bell isn't even remotely macho enough to pull off Bond.

I don't think "crusty old rich" is a good description of Bond's background. I read a few of the books but so long ago, I can't remember if his family was ever mentioned. Re Skyfall and the family seat, to me that said, landed gentry or even farmer, noting that farmers can be very wealthy in the UK, because land is so valuable. Old farming families who've been on the land for a century or two and who have a relationship with the local laird, rich in land but not a lot of ready cash. Something like that.

Wow r89, I would've thought she was at least a decade older. Hope we get to see more of her.

Naveen Andrews has to be the most ludicrous suggestion for Bond that was ever made. People are just spouting shit now.

Danny Boyle is out. “Bond 25” looking for a new director and the movie won’t be out until 2020 now.

What R93 said. People love to troll out shit when it comes to this topic. For fuck's sake.

Well if the movie isn't out till 2020 and Craig is signed up for another one after that, Idris Elba can kiss it goodbye. By then, I'm not even sure luscious early thirties types like Aidan Turner will be young enough.

My bet - no one mentioned so far is going to get it, especially with an opening date two years away, let alone a 50-year-old black actor who can't for his life open a major film successfully.

^^^ Exactly! Enough with Idris Elba! When was the last time that ancient Scottish families with codes of arms that read "Orbis Non Sufficit" produced black children, for the love of cunt?

I;m going to go with Aidan turner. Before I saw Mission Impossible, I would have said Henry Cavill but he was so completely lacking in that, I don't want to see him screw up Bond. I love James Norton, but I think he's too bland for most people. If Oliver Jackson Cohen had a higher profile, I could definitely see him.

Yawn, r97 is forgetting that the way Bond has been played in the movies isn't the same as how he has been portrayed on the screen

Aidan Turner = Timothy Dalton

Since Bond 25 will be released in 2020, the next one, assuming they go back to the three-year cycle, would be released in 2023. Casting for the next Bond would probably be in late 2022 or early 2023, so any casting rumors over the next five years are mainly from busy publicity agents.

R190 - Not quite. Dalton had nothing like the following Turner got just from Being Human, let alone Poldark. His role in "Desperate Romantics" was heavily sexual, as well (as one of the creators of "Desperate Romantics" put it in the extras on the DVD, it wasn't so much Art History as "Art for arses' sake").

Dalton was not a star in any way shape or form when he got the role (for that matter, neither was Craig). Turner is already better known globally than either man was when Craig got Bond.

There's a photo of Turner naked on a bed in "Desperate Romantics with his eyes closed and the covers just barely at his pubes. Dalton never achieved that much sex appeal in his career, let alone one photos, although very good looking, in his life.

Some got it, some don't.

I can see Aidan Turner, but a bigger jawline is needed and would help. There's time.

Yawn, [R97] is forgetting that the way Bond has been played in the movies isn't the same as how he has been portrayed on the screen

R99 WTF. Time to stop playing video games and get out of the house bitch.

R103 - To hell with his jawline. Find that photo of him asleep in bed from "Desperate Romantics" or the now famous "draped towel" scene from "And Then there Were None" and talk to me about his chest. Jawline my arse.

He has no chin.

too fragile what is he 5'6"? we dont need another tom cruise

If Daniel Craig changes his mind and drops out, it’s Idris Elba time.

R107 - He's about 5'10" which makes him taller than Craig, no one "fragile" would be playing Poldark or the Lieutenant of Inishmore, I suggest you look at some of his other photos - he has a perfectly decent chin. Ben Whishaw is "fragile". Aidan Turner is not. The difference is obvious to anyone with eyes.

R108 - Why on earth would Craig turn down another £50 million?!

Why did Jim Parsons turn down $100 million for two more seasons of Big Bang Theory? Why was James Gandolfini ready to walk away from The Sopranos multiple times? You just get tired of shit.

R110 - yes, Craig said he'd rather slit his wrists than do another Bond film. And then they offered him more money, and what do you know - he said he was only kidding or having a bad day or something. And then he signed on for two more films.

I think Craig has made it quite clear where he stands.

Riz Ahmed, but alas, he's too short and slight. But a Pakistani Bond (I know he was born in London) would blow so many peoples minds!

Archie Panjabi.

[quote]Archie Panjabi.

Sure, it's time for a female Bond!

As gay men, I think we can agree that it wouldn't be so bad to see Archie kicking ass while seducing and romancing a hot, hunky slab of manmeat in a Speedo.

Hey, Dr. Who is now a woman, so why not?!

travis femmel?

he way burnt out, looks twice his age, no fun, no way

o plz mary sam jackon has the appeal of a slab of gunk

You know they aint gonna cast no black man, not iris anyways,,,,,,

that Michael Jordan kid is hot tho

next bond will be a young hottie

maybe tim chalamet, when he bulks up yea.

Paul Bettany

If he was a better actor Charlie Hunnam. I'd pay money to see Tom Hardy as James Bond.

R122 - I'll take you up on Hardy. I think he's a very good actor and whilst hardly "handsome" he has his own sort of appeal. His work in "The Drop" persuaded me he's got the chops - it's, again, a question of whether the studio will take a chance on someone not particularly good-looking when they're looking for $500 million in profits. But I'd do my bit and buy at least one ticket, just as I did when Craig was the New Boy.

Love Bettany but he is too old and not rugged enough

Adam Rayner, who has been in a lot of stuff, including that failed pilot for a reboot of "The Saint" (trailer linked below). He comes out of a swimming pool in black trunks, and it's almost Craig material. He's 40-ish, so has could do at least two or three movies before aging out, and he seems to have the action stuff down.

Could be. Makes more sense than Elba.

James Norton, hands down.

R127 - I think Norton a viable possibility. People keep associating him with Sidney Chambers instead of the sociopath rapist from Happy Valley. He's tall, too.

"Adam Rayner, who has been in a lot of stuff, including that failed pilot for a reboot of "The Saint" (trailer linked below). He comes out of a swimming pool in black trunks, and it's almost Craig material. He's 40-ish, so has could do at least two or three movies before aging out, and he seems to have the action stuff down."

40-ish R125? He looks like a 50 year old middle-manager.

R129 - I fear I must agree with you re Rayner. The next Bond has to be under 40, preferably mid-thirties, with both intellectual and sexual charisma, and able, as Craig was, to move through several stages of Bond's evolution through several films as he goes past 40.

How the hell this bloody franchise can keep doing this is beyond my comprehension. Maybe they'll just start over again with a younger Bond and do the whole progression all over again until they get to the 50th film?

Aw, that (really lame) Saint trailer had both Roger Moore and Ian Oglivy.

Adam Rayner, ? That dude is 40-ish? Look at those fucking wrinkles. My 55 year old uncle looks like he's 25 compared to this dude! Are you serious? Definitely NOT Bond material.

If not Idris, I second James Norton, he'd be perfect.

I remember that the internet went ape shit crazy when Daniel Craig was cast. It was unthinkable that they would cast a blonde in this role.

GOT IT: the guy who played Neville in the Harry Potter movies. Tall, dark, well built.

Richard Madden. It’ll happen.

Has anyone mentioned Theo James yet?

R135, supposedly his work in the show Bodyguard makes him a strong contender

Sam Claflin

Jim Parsons is available.

You Bond lovers seriously don’t like Skyfall?

I liked it better after watching it a second time. I mean, I *really* loved Casino Royale and then the next one was a total failure so I was braced for another terrible movie. I wasn't sold on the set up for the last act in which they are sitting ducks marooned at an isolated house.

I did love the bit where Bond is heading to a "safe place" with M and when they arrive at the garage, she says "Well I certainly hope you don't expect me to stay here" and then the garage door opens and the iconic Bond theme plays and we see the Aston Martin. Killer scene.

I also spent the movie thinking Ralph Fiennes was a double agent so even at the very end I expected him to be revealed and killed. It could still happen.

^ What he said. And I hated M getting killed.

I like Richard Madden (just saw the first episode of his new Bodyguard show), but he doesn't look tall or imposing. These days James Bond is first and foremost an action star who looks good doing all kinds of stuntd and I don't think Richard is that sort of guy who looks impressive doing all kinds of stunts.

There were so many problems with Skyfall, not the least of which was Bond asking Q to leave a trail of crumbs so that Bardem could follow him and M up to the old ancestral home, which was completely ill-equipped to mount any kind of defense. Why do that? Bond hadn't been there in years, and even if the armory had been intact, it would have been useless against the barrage of firepower Bardem unleashed. Bond was responsible for M's death. He also, I'm sure, put a damper on the redecorating plans the new owners of Skyfall had.

Exactly r144. Not to mention it was surrounded by barren moorland so the escaping M and [Albert Finney] were easily spotted.

Also the car was trashed wasn't it. Pointless.

skyfall was a huge success, loved it.

hardy wont work as bond, he too thin skinned bout his gayness...has explosive bad temper, unreliable...

Chances are they will cast an unknown that hasn't been on peoples radar before. I'd say Pierce Brosnan was expected to become Bond, but the other four successors to Connery were rather unexpected. The other reason that would exclude Elba: He is a well-known actor with an established persona. If they'd cast him, people would have a very firm image on his interpretation of Bond that would make it hard to play against or even just fine tune. A relatively unknown actor, black or not, could still form the new Bond persona. It's just just a theory right now. I might be wrong, especially considering that Moore was somewhat established as an actor already, too, with at least two TV shows as a lead under his belt. But still... look at the choices of Lazenby, Dalton and Craig. Maybe it was just about money. The unknowns are probably really affordable.

R147 Completely agree. The Broccolis have never cast a star as Bond. Bond makes them stars. Connery was practically unknown at the time of Dr. No. Moore and Brosnan were TV stars whose TV success had passed Lazenby, Dalton and Craig, completely off the radar. And they were all quite young when they started. The next Bond will probably be someone without lot of name recognition, and that means not Elba, Hardy, Cavill, etc.

The poster upthread who gave a rough timeline got it right. The next Bond movie after the current one being planned won't see the light of day until at least 2023. Who knows at that point who will be around and have made some kind of impact? To speculate now on casting is rather fruitless.

Any love for the delightful Miss Lois Maxwell? I always hoped Moneypenny got some from James offscreen (in an elegant and ladylike way, of course).

"The other reason that would exclude Elba: He is a well-known actor with an established persona. If they'd cast him, people would have a very firm image on his interpretation of Bond that would make it hard to play against or even just fine tune. "

I feel the same way about Tom Hardy. He's too well-known as himself to disappear into the role of Bond

R151 - If Hardy could disappear into the persona of an inarticulate working-class Brooklyn bartender, channeling (in a good way, more of an homage) Brando's Terry Malloy, and then into the persona of a frontiersman, and then into both the Kray brothers, he can disappear into anything. I also thought he did a wonderful job in "Dunkirk" where he had to do most of his acting with his eyes above a pilot's mask.

R151 Those characters were not iconic before the roles were taken. Bond is different.

Isn't Hardy 5' 7? He is another one who even when you put him in a tux exudes working class even though he was raised middle upper class, which he tries to play off for the public.

James Scott.

The name "Idris" comes from the Muhammudan Republic of Turkey.

I hope Bond won't be played by an inky, slinky evangelist of this medieval faith.

I never understood why they didn't go "James Bond, jr." Harry Potter meets Spy World / Spy Academy. But then we got The Kingsman movie series.

I vote harry styles.. or someone similar: young, smart appealing and good actor.

they will never have james bond be an ethnic.... mixed blood perhaps.

Harry Styles isn't smart, appealing, or a good actor. He's not macho enough to be bond, either

Only on Datalounge could someone suggest with a straight face that a bland-looking, slight, over-tattooed non-entity like Harry Styles could be Bond.

GQ suggests that it might be time to kill Bond off.

R161 - I'm not sure GQ isn't right. Craig looks like a good place to end to me - you know, one of the rare 00s to make it to retirement, buys a house in the Cotswolds not far from Meghan and Harry, writes his memoirs, begins to paint - end up with an exhibition of his own watercolours in the National Gallery . . . finally gets it on with Moneypenny who has waited faithfully for him all these years . . . ends up with a knighthood . . .

Supposedly Boyle quit as director of Bond 25 because the producers planned to do just that - kill Bond.

Fassbender- thread closed

Omfg did they just spoil it? Wow I never would’ve seen that coming in a million years.

Boyle would have been the best director to do it, though, and audiences would have flocked to see the film. I know I would have.

If he dies, all subsequent Bonds will be set in the 20th century, as period films. As they should be.

Barbara Broccoli should really be paying me.

R164 - Fassbender is already looking long in the tooth and lacks a quality of empathy. No matter how macho and ruthless 007 can be, he has to still exhibit sympathy and a heart; Fassbender's persona is too close to the nasty sleazy shite he really is.

If anything Fassbender would make a good Bond villain.

Haha, well said R169

Helen Mirren needs to be in a bond movie as M or a villain

It’s an absolute travesty that Bond was about to be killed and it leaked out. Now they probably can’t do it.

It really is too bad R173, and it was the way to go. Wonder what they'll do now. Boyle should have just asked for more money, kept his mouth shut, and all would have been none the wiser.

Danny Boyle has made an enemy for life.

o for the love of mary, they aint gonna kill the golden goose.

they would merely bring him back in some obtuse plot line....

git real girls

whts his face quit over some friction ….he dint get his way.

would love Fassbender as bond

he so sexy pervy and HOT

is Daniel Craig the only gay man to play bond?

im told roger Dalton was gay also.....he was so damn cute.

Roger Moore?

[QUOTE]o for the love of mary, they aint gonna kill the golden goose. they would merely bring him back in some obtuse plot line....

Yes we know but seeing him die would’ve been the shock of the century. They never got rid of a Bond by killing him off. This is probably how they convinced Craig to do another movie.

big deal, happened every week on Dallas....

Craig is bi - in fact, I'm not sure he deserves that label, he has a reputation as being someone who'll fuck anything nearby that moves and works. There have been lots of BIs about how often he cheats on his classy wife, picking up women when he's travelling in hotel bars and moaning that his marriage is over but he and the missus have an "understanding". He has a reputation as a real douche bag and although he looks very much like the son of the Yorkshire publican he is, I suspect he's one of those ruthless types who'd have sold his gran for advancement - I don't doubt that he peddled his arse for same on the way up before he got Bond.

His cool ruthlessness is one reason he did well as Bond - as I said wayyy back in this discussion, that's what he nailed his characterisation to in the first five minutes of Casino Royale - I saw right off he'd make a success of it. My old Dad was still alive then, and I took him to see it, and instead of falling asleep in the cinema like he'd been doing for years, he was wide awake the whole time.

That's what you need for Bond: ruthlessness but with some sort of moral code underneath. That's why suggestions like Styles are so ridiculous.

I don't understand why an intelligent woman like Rachel Weisz puts up with him. She has to know he cheats on her regularly with men and women. Maybe they do have an "understanding".

Yes R182, because blind items are truly factual, and should always be taken as gospel.

So who do you see as Bond, R182?

Also, loved Craig in Our Friends in the North.

I respect the producers for wanting to kill off Bond. The franchise is tired (and I say this as a lifelong fan) and it would be good to see the story closed. At this point there's really not much left to do with the character. The easy thing would be to keep grinding them out, but Broccoli and Wilson obviously don't need tIt he money and perhaps see that the films have grown a bit tired. It always seems better to me to quit a show or film franchise while it is still good, but producers have a hard time doing so.

Bond has had an excellent run, so killing him off would make sense.

Replying to several comments above: I've already said I favour Aidan Turner and Tom Hardy as Bond; yes, BIs do not descend from on high on a tablet, but there have been quite a few about Craig and his habits. This is a gossip site, and most of what we discuss here hasn't descended from on high on a tablet, either. Craig was referred to as a gay man above, and there's no more proof of that then there is of what was in those BIs.

I also loved Craig in "Our Friends in the North" and think I mentioned it somewhere. One quibble I had with the series, though, is that the producers and directors chose not to go with full-on Geordie accents for fear some viewers, especially in America, would need subtitles, so they settled for a generic North of England accent with a faint Geordie overlay, which I thought was a shame, as the accent is so much a part of the feel of the area. Eccleston is from Manchester, Craig from Chester/Yorkshire, Mark Strong from London - only Mckee is from the region,. from Durham.

I own the series on DVD but it's so fucking depressing I only rewatch it once every few years.

Turner for the 007 win, IMHO. Second choices Hardy or Norton.

Aidan Turner, sexy, yes.

Tom Hardy would make a very sexy villain.

sexy dangerous mad if you prefer

Loved McKee in everything I've seen her in. Was very surprised to run into her one morning since I live in Paris.

Didn't see the very end of OFITN, which might have been for the best since it was heading in a very depressing direction. Maybe I should have, though, because it was good.

I remember writing to the BBC or Chanel 4 or whoever it was producing it asking for it to be released (or re-released?) on DVD, and lo and behold, a few months later out it came on DVD. Amazing.

R193 - One of my favourite indie films is "Croupier" with McKee, Clive Owen, and Alex Kingston - if you're a McKee fan, you should see it. Owen might have been a Bond possibility ten-15 years ago, but he's the wrong age now. Anyone catch him in the BBC detective series, Second Sight? Had several fascinating episodes.

OFITN was worth hanging onto, I know it was bloody depressing - but in the last frames Craig, who has surprisingly survived all his bad decisions and risks and imprisonment, ends by becoming the symbol of the group's and the area's resilience, as he walks across the bridge looking down at the city. Really fine ensemble playing.

I had a bit of a crush on McKee tbh. Luckily I'm partnered now, plus I was too young. Still. Very attractive woman, and I love her in In the Loop (that is one of the side effects of Rohypnol).

Let the franchise rest for at least 10 years. But, I know...money.

It’s an outdated story.

There was a time when the foreign locations seemed so exotic. That was before so many American kids took a semester in Europe. And their gizmos seemed so futuristic, but now gizmos are in every movie. And the double entendres seem quaint now, when more is shown on HBO.

R197 - I agree. That's why whoever suggested upthread that they should be reimagined as a mid-fifties period piece I think was on to something.

Ian Fleming killed Bond at the end of From Russia With Love. Rosa Kleb got him with the poison-tipped blade in her shoe. But, as is so often the case, they decided to bring him back. Hey, it worked for Sherlock Holmes.

At this point, why not make the name James Bond a code name like M or Q? Given to whoever is the most effective double-00 agent. It’s already practically the case with so many actors having played the part in multiple timelines.

Barbara Broccoli is not going to permanently kill off Bond. Her father exerted absolute control over the series, sometimes to its detriment. People that fanatical never walk away.

R198 It was me, the genius as some call me. I'm necessarily right about this because Bond takes place in the 20th century (starting 1953) and early 21st, but cannot take place at any other time. It is dependent on the global society of that time period. Now is too late. The world has changed too much, and we are back to pre-1953 in terms of preoccupations, that is we are back in 1933-1938.

I don't think the films should stop. But they can't keep commenting the current times like they have done, without a radical change to Bond that's just not going to be possible. They have to go back to 1953, then move from there as a period piece, like Mad Men. Bond is no longer modern, it cannot be. It is outdated, as others have said.

Bond films are just action films with eccentric villains who may have somewhat topical evil schemes. They don’t comment on their eras in any serious way. This talk of their being outdated is nonsense, so the idea of making a “period piece” out of them is pointless.

The good Bonds do.

Or Bond can become irrelevant. You're right, R203.

I'd love to see Daniel Kaluuya as Bond. He's beautiful, sleek but also has a very pleasant and interesting face to watch. He can say so much onscreen with just an eye flicker. I loved him in "Get Out", which I think was one of the best films of this period. Very much in the mood of "Rosemary's Baby".

R206

^ Is that Cuba Gooding.

Whenever I've seen articles about the betting odds for who will get the job next, Jack Huston is invariably in there with higher odds than many much more well known actors. Yet I never hear word one about him in places like this.

What's the story there?

Kaluuya is a good actor....but I don't think he is rugged or charismatic enough to pull off Bond

R210 The thing with Bond, is that he isn't just a muscle hero, he has to have the spy ability to persuade and distract and he needs a trustworthy face. Kaluuya has all of those things and I do think he has lots of screen charisma.

tom hardy to play a tranny villain....

shhhh

Kaluuya is likeable but not exciting IMHO. Anyway he's too young.

R213 - afraid you are correct: Kaluuya just doesn't have enough "edge" for Bond. He's also not particularly sexually compelling, and "likeability" really isn't the first thing everyone is looking for in 007.

The current 007 just became a father again at 50.

Just as I suspected, they can’t kill him off now.

Tom Hardy was good looking, what happened?

Had no idea Tom did full frontal on some BBC series.

bump

Glad Craig is going. Just not classy enough.

Any hope for a ginger?

I think Domhnall Gleeson would be outstanding.

Actually that would be an interesting choice R220. That would make for an intriguing Bond, why not.

R31, George Lazenby is the polar opposite of gay. And what makes you think Pierce Brosnan is gay?

Daniel Craig now looks like a potato.

Bond must be a man's man, a ladies' man, and a woman's man. Handsome, but not pretty (why I couldn't watch Roger Moore). Exuding danger, assuredness, and pheromones, with a touch of insouciance.

Another vote for a ginger!

Daniel Kaluuya is too beefy. Maybe if he could slim down.

Wow, Tom Hardy has such a small dick!

Love Domhnall Gleeson but he's not really macho enough for the role

Gleeson is simply not sexually charismatic enough, nor is Kaluuya. They're both character actors, not leading men. You need leading man material in this role, plain and simple.

Bond MUST ooze sex appeal, that's the most important prerequisite.

James Norton might be a great choice, he's manly but doesn't have a coarse rough face. Idris too, he's super sexy, but might be too old now. Riz Ahmed would be great as a Bond villain, he's played horrible characters before, he has a great range, he's a wonderful actor and has loads of sex appeal. Unfortunately, he's way too short to play Bond.

hardy was hot till he got constipated bout his gayness. it hardened him and he had to medicate so heavily that he looks like a mean old eggplant now...

They brought out the big guns to rewrite Bond 25. No doubt 007’s death has to go.

Richard Madden anyone? He is delicious in Bodyguard.

New director for Bond 25: Cary Fukunaga.

He's definitely got the look.

I concur that Roger Moore was never James Bond to me because he looked too prissy. I never really thought he was having sex with any of those women. The bland, hairless torso didn't help, either. I think it was Time magazine that ran a review basically saying that Moore's Bond looked like his latest assignment was having a face lift in Switzerland.

Ugh, Hunnam is boring and a bad actor

Barbara Broccoli: no Jane Bond, ever!

Olivia Colman as M

if the next movie makes a ton

they will keep old gay boy that's bond now...

He’s not gay.

R240 - He's almost certainly bi.

Based on what, R241?

Craig is obviously gay and so is her wife/beard Rachel

They’ve been married for over seven years. He has two kids, including one from his previous marriage.

What the hell has you people so convinced that he’s gay?

Some gays think that if they believe real hard, with all their heart that Craig is gay, he will come out and go to their home and love them forever.

Alex Pettyfer. He is young but always looks older.

Pettyfer is over, no one is casting him in big time roles

That's a shame, I would pay to watch him do his taxes, plus is perfect for the role

I'm sure Pettyfer would love to have you pay him for that, R248, since that's about the only gig he would have lined up these days.

R241-Well, here goes. I have mentioned that I taught in the State of New Mexico in America at one time (it was shortle before retirement). It also happened to be shortly after Cowboys and Aliens was released. I'm on the checkout line of one of Santa Fe's upscale food markets, and Craig is on the cover of Vanity Fair on the shelf. A couple of women ahead of me online are gazing at the cover, and, suddenly, the checkout girl says, "He's gay, you know." There's a stunned silence and the two women ahead of me who look at the girl with murder in their eyes, she actually took a step back, while I'm trying to hide my gasps of joy and hurrahs! Then the girl says defensively, "I worked on hair on Cowboys and Aliens and he had a little boyfriend with him the whole time., they went out dancing together, he was very open about it." And then the girl blurts out, "Well, I was disappointed too, you know!"

At that point I completely lost it. I don't even remember paying for my food.

My guess is that Craig is one of those men who do whatever is convenient and that he has few inhibitions.

we saw mr craig smoochin his honey in a gay bar in mexico honey....

R251 - NEW Mexico, dear. Nothing irritates people in that region more than the rest of the world forgetting that they ARE, actually, IN America.

Mexico is a different country.

I was shocked myself when I returned to NYC at how many people there welcomed me back from Mexico. The cab driver at La Guardia when he heard where I was returning from asked me if they had McDonald's there. Why, yes, I said: and running water, indoor plumbing, electricity, Krispy Kreme, Taco Bell, highways, movie theatres . . . and a thriving film industry.

It drives the locals crazy.

And yes, the checkout girl was a witness to Craig ensuring that he entertained himself while filming so far from the missus.

IN AMERICA.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

R253 - New Mexico IS the real world, and Daniel Craig is bisexual - there have been fairly strong rumours about him before the checkout girl in Whole Foods dropped the bomb.

Sorry if it hurts, but come on.

New Mexico is the real world. R254, but the dark recesses of your mind, in the dark recesses of your mom's basement, where you make shit up, is not.

R255 - Honey, I didn't say it, the checkout girl at Whole Foods in Santa Fe did.

Don't shoot the messenger.

You could also google Daniel Craig gay rumours. My dear, I was actually late to this par-tay.

Yeah Craig is gay

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

Happy Birthday to the amazing Ben Whishaw!

Richard Madden is apparently the front runner now to be the next Bond.

Meanwhile they’ve already got a new ending for Bond 25. Filming starts March 2019.

Richard Madden is a good actor but he's like Tom Hiddleston, he has a slight frame and skinny. Bond should have a menacing physical presence, like Sean Connery. Aidan Turner - same problem. Too small.

I liked James Norton at first but I wasn't impressed with his acting in McMafia.

Tom Hardy is too famous and too short.

They will probably pick an unknown actor, someone in his late 20's or early 30's. Someone mentioned Edward Holcroft. I think he'd be the physical ideal and he's a pretty good actor.

Holcroft is a good choice

Holcroft in a suit, looking like 007.

He really doesn't look good in a suit, like a model.

He looks hot to me

I meant he really looks good in a suit.

R263 - given that Craig is about 5'9" and only looks menacing because they bulk him up so much for Bond, how would the 6'2" Hiddleston, who is a bit more solid than you give him credit for, be "too slight" for the role? He did quite well in fight scenes with the more massive Hemsworth in the THOR films, and quite well in Kong: Skull Island.

As for Turner, he's got a quite macho aura and his chest is a thing of beauty. He isn't bulky, either, but physical menace is not necessarily a product of mass, or Hemsworth and Cavill would be great possibilities, and neither of them are.

What was amazing about Craig is that a shortish guy with sandy hair and a normal physique (before weight training) could project the cool menace you need for Bond.

It's projection that matters more. Turner is half Cavill's size and could do it (cf. his role in the Lieutenant of Inishmore and the cool mercenary Philip Lombard in "And Then There Were None").

His bone structure isn't Hiddleston's problem - his debacle with Taylor Swift put paid to that possibility.

Madden is also short, but perhaps with a new haircut, he could pull off the role of Bond. I like him, and he still has a huge following from his time on GoT.

[QUOTE]given that Craig is about 5'9" and only looks menacing because they bulk him up so much for Bond, how would the 6'2" Hiddleston, who is a bit more solid than you give him credit for, be "too slight" for the role?

I can’t imagine anything would make Hiddleston look intimidating.

R271 - I'm not entirely in disagreement with that, I just don't think it's a matter of bone and height, just persona. The odd thing is, he would make a first-class Bond villain. Hiddleston's problem is that he looks like an intellectual. These days, with his beard and long hair at the back and receding hairline, he looks more like an Oxford don. I think an Oxford don would be a terrific slant on a Bond villain . . . and THAT I know he could pull off. He's also good at a callous and shallow.

As stated above, Hiddleston made a laughingstock of himself with the whole Taylor Swift imbroglio. No one wants to see Swift's bitch playing James Bond.

R273 - Now, now don't be churlish. He got out fast and has kept a low profile since, including playing Hamlet. And agreed he has no shot at Bond.

But I fail to see why he wouldn't make a fabulous Bond villain.

Because Tom desperately wants to play Bond, not a Bond villain.

R275 - Wager a month's pension Tom would take a Bond villain role in a heartbeat.

Piers Morgan attacks 'emasculated' Daniel Craig for using a baby carrier

How is that emasculating?

Morgan is well-known douche dick cunt.

R277 But says nothing about the spandex/shorts combo? That's the real tragedy.

R276 Right about now Hiddleston would jump at a commercial. His last major role was as "main beard" in Taylor Swift's "Summer of 2016". He probably needs the cash. Therapy and Xanax don't buy themselves.

"I can’t imagine anything would make Hiddleston look intimidating."

Excuse me, didn't you see me in my tough leather biker getup?

They need to reboot the whole series and start all over with a younger Bond in his late 20's and how it all began, even if the setting is 1940 or 50's. The current Bond formula is old and tired.

I would love a retrospective Bond movie.

Unfortunately, a retro Bond movie would pale in comparison to the original films from the early '60s, so they would never do that.

R281 - LOL. But I doubt Hiddleston is short of cash. Rich parents and in the stud book on the mother's side, and probably made more in the THOR films than he will make in any other venture in his lifetime. Understand he bought the house in Belsize Park in London outright with the money from the THOR films. I doubt he's hurting financially.

And actually his last major role was Hamlet as part of a fundraiser for RADA. Six-week gig, tickets by lottery only, sold out completely, and he got good reviews.

He should go back to Shakespeare and stop trying to be a film star. But I still think he would make a good Bond villain.

[QUOTE]Unfortunately, a retro Bond movie would pale in comparison to the original films from the early '60s, so they would never do that.

You have multiple generations of people now who will never bother to watch those old movies while the ones who revere them are dying off every second, so that doesn’t really matter.

All they have to do is do a spin off franchise and call it James Bond,jr (like that cartoon series from the 90s, I believe) and keep the regular franchise.

Lots of people still watch the old Bond movies, even younger people, amazingly enough.

Well, I would like to see a YOUNG handsome James Bond, instead of old, tired middle-age men.

Jamie Bell

R290 - "Well, I would like to see a YOUNG handsome James Bond, instead of old, tired middle-age men."

As I keep saying, Aidan Turner for the win.

[quote] I don't understand why an intelligent woman like Rachel Weisz puts up with him. She has to know he cheats on her regularly with men and women. Maybe they do have an "understanding".

I vaguely remember reading it's a lavender marriage. She probably doesn't give a shit what Daniel does.

[QUOTE]Well, I would like to see a YOUNG handsome James Bond, instead of old, tired middle-age men.

They choose older men for a reason. It requires a great bit of talent, skill and intellect to play James Bond. These things take time to develop as an actor. And it’s a long term commitment—once he’s selected, you’ll be making three to five movies with this fella over the course of two decades. So you can see why they’d want a seasoned gentleman. It’s like getting married—you want someone with the maturity to handle being a husband.

R294 - Craig was 36, Connery was barely 30 - those are hardly "older men". Choosing an older actor doesn't make sense precisely because of the multifilm contracts - you end up with a geriatric Bond who looks way too long in the tooth for all that sex and action-man shit.

Ideally, the actor starting our on his first Bond should be in his early thirties - so that after four films he's perhaps in his mid-forties and can retire rich as Croesus.

Craig was too old in the last film and nearly too old in the one before that. God only knows how they'll have to sculpt his jowls in his next and last one.

Rather like the Queen reducing Charles's time on the throne to a few years through her refusal to do the decent thing and abdicate, Craig agreeing to do one more is standing in the way of actors like Turner and Norton, who should be up for the role now, before they go over 35.

Not that he cares. Craig has never struck me as being filled with altruism. He is, after all, an actor; and I expect that spending a decade as a highly successful 007 does something to one's view of oneself . . .

*Connery was barely PAST 30 (I think he was 32 when he got Dr. No).

R295

[quote]Rather like the Queen reducing Charles's time on the throne to a few years through her refusal to do the decent thing and abdicate, Craig agreeing to do one more is standing in the way of actors like Turner and Norton, who should be up for the role now, before they go over 35.

People like Daniel Craig as Bond, it's that simple. Skyfall is the best Bond ever made in my opinion. Sean Connery is the classic Bond, and he was certainly great. Moore as Bond wasn't really ideal but there's no denying some of his films were great, partly because I was a small kid when films like Goldfinger were released and I loved them. I was planning to hate Lazenby's Bond the first time I saw it knowing it was his only one but I actually ended up liking it quite a lot. He definitely could've made more. Dalton's Bonds were terrible but that wasn't his fault. Goldeneye with Pierce Brosnan was the first Bond I saw in a theater and I loved it. Too bad his later ones were dreadful. I've enjoyed all of Craig's Bonds but I'm not a fan of Spectre. I even like Quantum of Solace, since for once a Bond film is a straightforward action movie without bigger-than-life twists and turns.

Craig's Bond films are extremely well made and they are action films you can take seriously. Sort of like I assume it was with Connery. That's why people are not yet ready to let him go.

How many more Craig Bond movies will there be?

Do you think he owned the role in such a way previously only seen with Connery? Should the next actor be afraid to take the franchise? Will it sell to the all important Asian, Russian, and Middle Eastern markets?

His contract ends with the next film. Judging by his wrist slashing statement I doubt he'd want to return, but then again he's not really a super bankable star outside of the Bond franchise and I seriously doubt he can ever again get as big paychecks as he does with the Bonds. He's apparently getting $25M for the next one, and IF that film does extremely well it's quite possible they'll still want to use him, and I'm sure it would be wise for him to do at least one more just for the money. Actually I could totally see them do a double Bond movie where Craig is paired with the new Bond. Although that might be too much for the purists.

Now did he own the role like Connery did? I knew Craig from films such as Love Is the Devil and Tomb Raider before the Bonds so I knew he's a skillful actor, and Bond was just another character in his repertoire. We're probably talking more about the golden age of spy literature at 60s where Connery's best Bonds exist vs the gritty action films of today which lack that sweet nostalgic feel. Two very different styles of film with two very different James Bonds. I think Craig has done a great job since his Bond is supposed to be a bit of a rough asshole, when Connery's was such a suave smooth operator.

I'm sure everyone in the production is worried about finding the next perfect Bond actor, and I'm sure the actor hopes to be another Connery or Craig as well. I'd actually love to see a black Bond as a fuck you to the markets you mentioned but that obviously means the actor should be absolutely perfect for the role. Earlier mentioned Daniel Kaluuya wouldn't work since he just simply isn't traditionally handsome. Broccoli loves the franchise, it's her life, and I'm sure she'll try to find the way to keep the franchise as strong as it's been with Craig. It is after all a business.

R297 - Hell, I loved Craig as Bond - but have you seen photos of him lately at 50? Check the Daily Mail. I much preferred Casino Royale to Skyfall, but I still think Dr. No and From Russia with Love were the best ones ever made.

But he looks awful now. He's going to have to undergo a year's health and fitness training before he can start filming his last Bond, in a sort of uncanny incidence of life imitating art (his tests upon returning from the dead in Skyfall).

R299 - Craig hasn't made anything but small indie films during his 007 period - but he is absolutely bankable in the theatre. I tried getting tickets for the revival of "Betrayal" in New York three years ago - forget it. Friends in NY who did get tickets said he blew Rafe Spall and Rachel Weisz off the stage with his intensity.

I don't think he wants to be a 'bankable" movie start when he exits Bond for good. I think he wants to do interesting parts and more theatre work, which he will be able to afford to do because he became a fucking multi-multi millionaire through Bond.

Skyfall and Spectre were both ridiculously plotted. Casino Royale and yes, even Quantum of Solace were better movies. It's not to say that Skyfall did not have its charms, but so much happened in it that were just random events. I watched it twice and it did not improve upon the second viewing. Spectre I have never had any interest in seeing again, and I am a huge Bond fan and like Daniel Craig.

I would bet that a little more time passes between Craig's fifth Bond and the next one to allow time for the dust to settle and have a reboot, so guessing who would be an appropriate casting choice would be fruitless at this point.

I vote Douglas Booth and his jawline.

It's a shame Jonathan Harris isn't around to play James Bond.

Bond: I like my Martinis shaken, not stirred, you bumbling bartender.

Bond: Do you expect me to talk? Blofeld: No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die! Bond: Whaaaaaooooooohhhhhh!!!!

M: You need to go to the U.S. to stop Goldfinger from blowing up Fort Knox and stealing all of its gold to finance his plans to dominate the world. Bond: Oh the pain, the pain.....

Doug Booth is too nelly

It's not just Bond's stature; it is also his visage.

Sean Connery remains definitive for his impressive erstwhile boxer's (thankfully hirsute) body as well as his flared-nostrils, arched-brows, piercing-eyes, and cruel-yet-seductive-mouth visage. Plus, he projected an insouciance, a wit, a rebelliousness, an anti-authority nature even as he worked for the epitome of authority.

Everyone after, with the exception of George Lazenby, is a mere stand-in. Yes, I excepted Lazenby.

R304, Hello?! Goldfinger not Blofeld, said, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to DIE!"

From the British GQ.

On their list Richard Madden, James Norton, Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Riz Ahmed, Henry Cavill, Aidan Turner, Nicholas Hoult, Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender, David Oyelowo, Harry Styles (WTF???), Cillian Murphy, Luke Evans, Jamie Bell, Gillian Anderson. Orlando Bloom,

Henry

Why Riz Ahmed would and wouldn't be good as Bond.

"Why: In our September issue, we asked Ahmed if he would consider taking on the prestigious 007 role. His answer: ‘you know, any stretching the mould of what our traditional archetypes are appeals to me – so yes, those classic stories, be it a kind of superhero or James Bond.’ We’re hoping this will potentially bring him into the running, as it should do, being incredibly handsome with the acting ability to back him up. Step aside Q, Ahmed boasts a jawline sharp enough to cut Bond’s enemies on.

Why not: He would, perhaps, be the shortest Bond to have graced our screens but hopefully we have all moved on from thinking this is a hard-and-fast requirement, especially when we’re all viewing an enlarged 30”x70” image in the cinema. Ahmed’s past roles also may make him a more unconventional choice for the role – Four Lions, as an obvious example – but parts in Nightcrawler and critically-acclaimed The Night Of give us a glimpse into his versatile acting abilities."

Riz obviously lies about his height, he claims to be 5'8", but 5'6", perhaps 5'5", is more like it. He looks taller because he's so slim.

If Idris is actually on their list, and they feel he can do at least three movies, then they need to pick him.

I'm watching Richard Madden in The Bodyguard right now. He is good, but I think he is too small in stature for Bond, even if bulked up.

Madden is too sweet looking to play Bond. He has a vulnerable quality that works great in the Bodyguard. I think Idris could dye his hair and have some fillers and he'd be perfect for 3 or 4 Bond movies. There isn't anyone remotely as masculine and sexy.

Madden would work if they turned James Bond into some male Mata Hari version of a spy who fucks men and women for intel.

I'm going to go with Oliver Jackson-Cohen just because he needs to make more movies where his shirt is off.

[QUOTE]Madden would work if they turned James Bond into some male Mata Hari version of a spy who fucks men and women for intel.

Nothing would sink the franchise quicker than making Bond gay.

A gay Bond would be so much fun, but they would never do that

Sean Connery may have been only 32 when he made the first Bond but he had that era's grown up man aura. He probably looked like that when he was 22.

I would rather have Idris Elba make his own thriller-type movies and not have to suffer under the weight of the creeky Bonddom.

They’re saying no Blofield for Bond 25?

Clive Standen

^ He's hot

They are not going to announce the next Bond until the next one is released. It's part of the hype and marketing plan. Fukunaga also has a multi film pact which can be cancelled by the Producers but not by him, at least through the second film.

^Since he's not a slave, I can imagine he could cancel the contract binding him to a second film any time he wants.

Rami Malek might be the Bond 25 villain.

R325. He IS a slave. They bought him. He also cleans their windows.

Name is Cohen. Oliver Jackson Cohen.

Good call, R328

R325, It's standard practice in the industry to lock in talent for multiple film or TV projects with the right to fire them if things don't work out. It's also standard practice for the talent to demand more if the show or film they are contracted to do becomes a mega hit. Like the cast of Friends renegotiated their contracts.

So Lea Seydoux is said to be coming back. I think this may be the first time a Bond girl of any significance comes back for a second movie. Anyone predicting her death in the first 10-minute opening scene a-la Tracy in OHMSS?