Luke Evans has got that right mix of age and talent to pull off Bond well for a good five films or so. Definitely agree he'd have more longevity than Elba. But I'd still have Elba and Evans as 1st and 2nd choice respectively. Henry Cavill isn't that good an actor. He tried the whole spy thing in Cold Light of Day, which was an awful film and he drowned next to the talents of Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis. I agree that Quantum is Craig's worst film as Bond. Too convoluted. I thought Skyfall was great though, but that's probably because I'm older and injured so can relate to his battered old body.
I thought Elba wasn't interested in the role anyway as he knew he'd go down in film history as, "That black guy who played Bond / The first black Bond" and he wasn't interested. But I read that a couple of years ago. And money talks...
Just looked it up and for a comedy film that was a surprisingly badass moment. Although Warrior was the first film I saw him in so it wasn't a surprise. But, while trying to find that scene, I find the ultimate proof he's the next Bond [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Qr6eG1gp0[/ame]
I don't think it matters at all whether the actor is British, but I think they do need to be able to play a "product of the English public school system" or one of the "officer class". That's just the character and the context in which he exists. No reason a good American actor with a gift for accents couldn't do it, for example. I do think, though, that if they're going to veer too far away from the rough profile of the character that exists from the novels, then they might as well create a new character.
That's true actually and it's still a hell of a film IMO. @Rhythmkiller - LOL, no! You know Bond can't be ginger, think of all the souls he would harvest on the big screen! @ Boards - agreed that Quantum is the worst of the three Bond films. It's not a bad film but even when I saw it in the cinema I just sat there and went "Eh, it's alright.". Skyfall though, I loved. It was nice to see Bond not as this wonderfully precise/semi perfect spy and incredible sharp shooter but instead as a failure who dropped the ball horribly.
I agree with Hannibal about Quantum. I was pretty underwhelmed the first time. And there's no question it's the weakest of the three. But it does get better with repeated viewings. I'd put forward Michael Fassbender. But I freely admit that it's because I'm playing very much into the "white Brit" precedent. On that: It would be impossible for Idris Elba to be the next James Bond without being the first black James Bond. Hells bells, look how much attention it got that Craig was the first James Blond, for crying out loud. The question, really, is whether he can live with that and make the role his own beyond that absolutely inevitable point. There are all sorts of pedantic arguments to be made if you particularly wanted to push the "white Bond" agenda (which I don't). But continuity has really already gone out the window. We've been watching Moneypenny flirt with Bond since the 1960s. Yet they've barely met in the current chronology. At the same time, Bond is aging out of the service. But, if we take the current movies as prequels, he's got a good few decades to go in HMSS. So I'm perfectly happy at this point to shrug my shoulders and say "Elba: Bond. And... go!" The age thing is a good point though. How long would Elba 1) want to and 2) be able to play the character we're all envisioning? I'd absolutely be game to see what happens. EDIT: And... Fassbender really is German. Of German/Irish descent. So not as stereotypical as I initially thought I was being. But close.
Fassbender is probably one of the top three actors alive today. I'd rather see him as a villain. Not because he's German but because he would play the role superbly.
I suspect I'm going to ruffle a few feathers with this, and I rather doubt he'd take the role, but I'd like to see what Benedict Cumberbatch would do with it. He's the right age to do justice to the casting with a series of movies, he has the acting chops to do justice to the script, and he showed in Star Trek that he has the capacity for focused brutality and action that is the trademark of a good Bond.
Ralph Fiennes would be perfect. He's a good actor though, so he might not want to fart around with garbage like James Bond, but they could always ask him. Failing that, Daniel Radcliffe is probably at a loose end since Harry Potter finished.
Isn't the new bond movie called James Bond 007 Reaver Of Souls? Harry would be perfect for that lol Baza
But he's already "M" though. He was the head of the defence committee or something similar in Skyfall and took Dame Judi Dench's job at the end of the last one. He is a very good actor though. I did think about Radcliffe actually. He's a good actor, all credit to him. But aside from the issue of sitting there going "Ha! Harry Potter is Bond!", I'm not sure he'd be great for the physical side of the role, though I'm sure he would find a way to cope with his dyspraxia. Plus he still looks like a boy, which would bug me. I did think about him too actually. He's a great actor and very much carries the "English education and sophistication" part that the Bonds have had very well. Haven't seen the latest Star Trek yet so I can't comment on what he'd be like there. I thought the films were supposed to be set (like Casino Royale and Quantum) as prequels with the exception of having better tech? I thought I'd read that somewhere but I'm probably wrong on that.
Haha! M: "Bond, we're sending you on a mission to take down SPECTRE. You'll not be given any gadgets, just look at them and stay out of the sunlight so you don't turn to dust. They won't be packing any garlic so you should be fine and stay out of the silverware.". It's possible I might have my mythology mixed up
Here you are - just a short clip: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIuJ4zvl138"]Star trek into darkness - Vengeance battle - YouTube[/ame]
Would this Bond character at least be equipped with an umbrella with a poisoned tip, or perhaps a sun hat reminiscent of a driving miss daisy number? I just love the Bond universe. Baza