James Bond: 007 - Spectre - - Part 11

[DigificWriter]

He's done the spy role already and he's too old for it

How is Armitage too old to play a character who is in his mid-40s as of SPECTRE?

 

[Zantera]

Isn't the elephant in the room the rights over the films? Sony holds the rights now, but I think Spectre was either the last one, or they have rights to make one more. Now, they could very well hold onto the rights, but another company could just as easily sweep in and obtain them. If that happened then I don't think the owner feels any responsibility to follow Sony's continuity, and instead just do what they feel is right.

 

[DigificWriter]

EON would be the ones making creative decisions, not their distribution partners, and I just don't believe they have any reason to reboot the franchise again.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I honestly don't care what happens with Sony; there will ALWAYS be Bond films unless a couple of them flop HARD. They'll figure out some way to keep cranking these puppies out sooner or later.

Anyway, I like the Dan Stevens suggestion. Much better than supposed "frontrunner" Damien Lewis.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Isn't the elephant in the room the rights over the films? Sony holds the rights now, but I think Spectre was either the last one, or they have rights to make one more. Now, they could very well hold onto the rights, but another company could just as easily sweep in and obtain them. If that happened then I don't think the owner feels any responsibility to follow Sony's continuity, and instead just do what they feel is right.

Sony only distributes the series, MGM/EON produces them but doesn't distribute their own films anymore. Basically what will happen right now is that either Paramount or Warner Bros will buy MGM and the Bond films will be distributed by them, but otherwise function the same as it has. It's also possible (but bloody unlikely) that Sony will front the cash to make another deal.

 

[Schlosser85]

Richard Armitage and Damien Lewis are both 44, only three years younger than Craig. Though IMO Craig could easily be in his 50s.

Idris Elba is one year younger than Armitage, and IMO looks older than Armitage.

Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender are both 38.

Dan Stevens is 33. Henry Cavill is 32.

 

[DigificWriter]

The only way a black actor would be cast is if EON reboots again, and they have no reason to do so. Another reboot in just over a decade since the first one would only tick people off and hurt the franchise.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Richard Armitage and Damien Lewis are both 44, only three years younger than Craig. Though IMO Craig could easily be in his 50s.

Idris Elba is one year younger than Armitage, and IMO looks older than Armitage.

Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender are both 38.

Dan Stevens is 33. Henry Cavill is 32.

I'd be happy with any of these guys in the role. I think my top 5 would be:

1. Michael Fassbender
2. Henry Cavill
3. Dan Stevens
4. Tom Hardy
5. Tom Hiddleston

 

[DigificWriter]

They're not going to cast young with the approach they've taken. There's a reason the rumored frontrunner (Damian Lewis) is 44, and it's because theyve given the character a defined age in-universe.

 

[Schlosser85]

I don't want a black Bond.

Damien Lewis, Tom Hiddleston, and Henry Cavill don't say "Bond" to me either.

I know a lot of people like Dan Stevens for Bond, but I don't see it.

No real opinion on Richard Armitage, since I've only seen him as Thorin Oakenshold and for 5 minutes in the first Captain America.

I could see Tom Hardy or Michael Fassbender.

 

[DigificWriter]

The "black Bond" and "early 30s Bond" ships have sailed for the time being, and yet I fear we're going to keep getting people who don't acknowledge that fact. * sigh *

As far as Hardy and Fassbender go, Michael has already committed himself to a franchise and Tom doesn't usually DO franchise films, so I can't really see him doing so for thos one.

 

[Schlosser85]

The "black Bond" and "early 30s Bond" ships have sailed for the time being, and yet I fear we're going to keep getting people who don't acknowledge that fact. * sigh *

As far as Hardy and Fassbender go, Michael has already committed himself to a franchise and Tom doesn't usually DO franchise films, so I can't really see him doing so for thos one.

I was pretty skeptical of Hardy even being interested if it was offered to him, but he's made a couple comments in recent interviews saying he wouldn't turn it down.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I really don't like the idea of doing a series of films with Bond in his 50s. I don't have much of a problem with a Bond around 50, at the end of the line for that actor's run, but casting a guy who's already approaching that and will be 60 by the time he is done (or re-cast again right away) is not a good idea. People still joke about how old Roger Moore was in A View to a Kill and how ridiculous it was. This series shouldn't go down that road again.

Mid-to-late 30s is an appropriate age for the new Bond actor when first cast, and then he can wrap up in his late 40s.

 

[DigificWriter]

I was pretty skeptical of Hardy even being interested if it was offered to him, but he's made a couple comments in recent interviews saying he wouldn't turn it down.

Hmm. I wasn't aware of that.

We do know he'd wanted to do Suicide Squad, which is a franchise in and of itself while being part of a bigger franchise, so it wouldn't be unprecedented for him to at least consider it, but I worry that he'd ultimately lrioritize his wider career over something like Bond just as he did with SS.

 

[Rowsdower!]

The "black Bond" and "early 30s Bond" ships have sailed for the time being, and yet I fear we're going to keep getting people who don't acknowledge that fact. * sigh *

Care to explain? Did EON actually address this or are you just speculating because they haven't dumped Craig in his old age and he hasn't been able to change his race in recent films?

 

[Schlosser85]

Hmm. I wasn't aware of that.

We do know he'd wanted to do Suicide Squad, which is a franchise in and of itself while being part of a bigger franchise, so it wouldn't be unprecedented for him to at least consider it, but I worry that he'd ultimately lrioritize his wider career over something like Bond just as he did with SS.

Hardy seems kind of flighty about his projects. He puts stuff on the back burner to take other stuff and drops out of stuff to take different stuff a lot.

 

[DigificWriter]

Rowsdower: I'm making those statements based on the fact that they A) can't cast a black actor without doing another clean-slate reboot; B) have no reason to do another clean-slate reboot; and C) have given Bond a defined age in the new continuity

 

[Rowsdower!]

I don't think they need to do a reboot if they cast a black actor. If James Bond can go from looking like Sean Connery to George Lazenby to Roger Moore to Timothy Dalton to Piers Brosnan without rebooting, then you can have a black James Bond without rebooting. Yeah, all those guys were white, but none of them are going to get mistaken for being one of the other ones. They don't look remotely alike.

 

[Golgo-13]

I think Damien Lewis is a horrible idea. I like him as an actor, but not Bond. This may come off as being shallow, but those freckles and ginger hair just don't say 'Bond' to me.

 

[DigificWriter]

I don't think they need to do a reboot if they cast a black actor. If James Bond can go from looking like Sean Connery to George Lazenby to Roger Moore to Timothy Dalton to Piers Brosnan without rebooting, then you can have a black James Bond without rebooting. Yeah, all those guys were white, but none of them are going to get mistaken for being one of the other ones. They don't look remotely alike.

A black actor and a white actor cannot play the same version of a given character without it seeming contrived and ridiculous.

Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan playing the same version of James Bond works because they're all Caucasian.

 

[Golgo-13]

I don't want a black actor playing Bond either. As much as i love how diverse cinema has slowly become, there are some characters that just won't be the same if their gender or race is changed; i.e Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Blade, etc....

 

[DigificWriter]

I'd be fine with a black actor as Bond, but the window of opportunity for making that kind of a casting choice has closed for the time being given the circumstances by which they're currently approaching the franchise.

 

[Iceman]

I can't see Tom Hiddleston as Bond, as much as I like him for other stuff.

 

[Golgo-13]

Me neither. He seems too posh.

 

[DigificWriter]

I said this elsewhere, but Hiddleston is too tall and too young to be James bond at the present time.