James Bond Fans Are Not Going To Be Happy With Franchise Timeline
It may be quite a while indeed before fans of the venerable James Bond franchise will have any idea who will be picking up the legendary shaken, not stirred, martini glass after Daniel Craig’s exit from the spy movie series.
James Bond Getting Reinvented
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barbara Broccoli indicated in an interview with the guardian that she believes it is vital for the James Bond character to be “reinvented for the next chapter.”
In a franchise that has constantly adapted to changes in the broader culture and in the geopolitical landscape, the dramatic shifts in our contemporary world, Broccoli feels, must be addressed in a modernization of the 007 films.
James Bond Has Changed Over The Years
As franchise producer and daughter of the late Albert R. Broccoli, the original cinematic James Bond custodian, the younger Broccoli knows a thing or two about both the history and the future of the world’s favorite MI6 agent.
After all, a lot has changed in the 18 years since Daniel Craig first appeared on screens as James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale, having since completed one of the longest runs for any actor in franchise history with No Time To Die in 2021.
Putting the current moment of the franchise into historical perspective, Broccoli reflects on Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as Bond, Goldeneye, which came after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, which had defined the character to that point.
The Character Needed A New Look
In the film, M (Dame Judi Dench) even refers to James Bond to his face as a “misogynist dinosaur” and “a relic of the Cold War,” calling attention to the widespread belief at the time that the character himself had outlived his usefulness due to the major changes that had taken place in global politics.
James Bond After Daniel Craig
Certainly, Daniel Craig’s time as the iconic spy allowed the series to delve deeply into the character’s emotional life in ways that had not been done before that point.
How that level of character context and emotional depth will translate into a new version of the franchise that will also address our current cultural and political climate is a sticky wicket that Broccoli, her half-brother Michael G.
Wilson, and their fellow producers, in her words, “haven’t even begun to work out.”
Possible New James Bonds
This makes all the speculation in recent years regarding the next James Bond seem quite a bit moot for at least the time being.
Though rumors had circled that the next Bond would be a woman, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, and Richard Madden, among others, none of these show any sign of coming to fruition anytime soon given the current state of planning for the future of the franchise.
For his part, Elba, who had been a front-runner in many people’s minds, even said he wasn’t interested in the role.
The Next Villain?
At the moment, Broccoli says her team is focused on defining the next villain James Bond will encounter, perhaps looking to the challenge he will face to help define this new direction.
Where that challenge will come from and what shape that villain will take is something the writers and producers of the James Bond series are working on.
With no clear timetable for the production of the next film and many open-ended questions from Broccoli about the future of the franchise, it looks as though fans will have some time to wait before there is any word on casting, let alone a new film in theaters.
