James Bond

Like I said before I think it's because Craig's leaving, and thus they wanted to tie up all his plot threads. He did say he's sick of it recently, after all.

edited 11th Jun '16 2:31:00 PM by HamburgerTime

Yeah, on that - I don't think anyone's posted this link yet:

https://www.rt.com/uk/343628-craig-gives-bond-goldfinger/

"James Bond star Daniel Craig has reportedly told studio bosses he’s “done” playing 007, turning down a £68 million deal to film two more movies."

Eh, where's that "When Harry Met Sally" clip link when I need it?

It could be Tom Hiddlestone that takes on the tuxedo next. Unlike Craig he has shown to be capable of displaying a certain reptilian charm, which could go well if he gets the role.

I like being right!

I sometimes wonder what it is about Bond actors seemingly souring on the role by the end? Connery's feelings towards Bond seem to fluctuate between indifference and dislike. Brosnan doesn't hate the role, but he also didn't seem all that broken up about leaving it either. Craig and his issues. I cannot really comment on Dalton because I haven't really heard him speak on his Bond tenure really.

Moore seems to be the only actor who truly flat-out embraces his time as Bond, even after leaving the role.

And he's the least-liked one.

Huh.

Well, if you are playing James Bond, you are taking on the role of the single most famous character in cinema. Bar none. No other character comes close, be he or she part of either the DCU or the MCU. The amount of pressure that this brings on an actor would drive most mortals to despair after one film - Craig and the rest (except Lazenby thanks to the worst agent in Hollywood history) have done far more than that.

Even when most people actually like an actor in the role, that pressure doesn't go away until they take off the tuxedo and start wearing board shorts and Hawaiian shirts for a living (c.f Pierce Brosnan in at least one of his post-Bond films).

Maybe Craig just got tired of it all?

Not to mention that any actor who takes on the role of Bond has to keep in shape at all times (physically as well as psychologically), so there's a strict regimen which probably makes it difficult to endure. I can easily see Craig getting fed up with it after so many years.

Dalton was willing to appear in GoldenEye, but the postponing that happened due to the whole mess that happened in the early 90's regarding EON (iirc) made him lose his patience and he decided to do other projects instead of waiting for another big movie to be made.

edited 12th Jun '16 6:52:27 AM by Quag15

That article mentions Idris Elba is one of the frontrunners to succeed Craig. I can dig it. Would require another reboot though, obviously.

edited 12th Jun '16 8:59:56 AM by HamburgerTime

Why? Bond's radically altered his appearance many times.

IIRC hasn't he already squished the rumours?

Not from the chatter I've been seeing. He could be giving the role a body swerve though, so you could be right on that.

I think he's on record that he hasn't had any discussions with anyone about taking the role, but not gone as far as saying he wouldn't be open to said discussions should someone approach him. Personally I can't really see him as being a great Bond - but a decent Bond villain, yes.

I'd like to see Richard E. Grant as a villain, myself.

Yeah, he'd be good. He showed up in Doctor Who and he was terrifying.

I want either Jessica Chastain or Alicia Vikander (or both) to play villains myself.

edited 13th Jun '16 9:22:19 AM by Punisher286

OK, so if James Bond isn't an alias, given we see his parents' grave...why is the spymaster using his real name on the job?!

My point on what to do if Craig is fully serious about leaving. Do it ala The Dark Knight Rises, in that, while Bond's still alive, it's a new guy who gets to be called 007.

Turns out that MI 6 have some REALLY stringent recruitment policies for the position of 007. You must be an orphan. You must be badass, and be nigh irresistible to attractive women, and your birth name MUST be Bond, James Bond. So far in nearly sixty years they have found about six people who fit all these categories, each of which we have seen the adventures of on screen.

When Skyfall was released, the old "all James Bonds are different people using the same codename" became hard to concile with Skyfall directly showing James Bond's house, but some people have taken it to more ludicrous levels and explained that not only does each 007 inherit the "James Bond" identity, but also the James Bond estate and legacy. So basically the Bond family is as of entirety a cover-up for a training ground of orphans to become deadly MI 6 assassin.

So by the logic of the theory, each Bond was just a random kid the British Government took up, raised in the Bond estate under the pretense of being "James Bond", heir to the family, and trained them to become deadly assassins.

Guys, every actor plays the exact same guy. It's a floating timeline. No one else cares, and neither should we that the same individual has been fighting bad guys since the 60s.

Dude, we know. It's just a silly theory.

It should probably be noted that even pre-reboot we occasionally ran into people who knew Bond before he was an agent.

And they repeatedly reference Tracy Bond, either directly or indirectly, post-OHMSS. And all of the Bond actors have a noticeable emotional response to even that. Which makes little sense if they aren't the same character just played by different actors. Unless "dead wife that makes him sad" is also supposed to be part of the "cover story" as well, which seems unlikely.

OR... Bond is a Time Lord.

(This has probably been done before. Like, a lot. Sorry.)

By the way, Bond does frequently use cover identities. He just tends to get figured out really quickly. Which would probably make him a pretty bad agent in real life, but makes for more exciting cinema.