Aaron taylor Johnson reportedly cast as James Bond

[ChrisIII]

He's come up as a potential name for a few months but many news outlets are reportedly it's almost a done deal, although no official word yet from the producers.

He seems to fit what they're looking for though-an actor under 40 who could probably commit to the films for a decade or so and not age out which began to be a problem with some of the longer-running actors (Mainly Roger Moore whose age is very evident in his 1980s films, although both Pierce and Craig were pushing it in their final films in their early 50s).

Plus he's British, seems to have the right mix of action and drama credit, and certainly the comic timing so he shouldn't have any problem with the quips/humor, which sometimes the more serious Bonds like Dalton and Craig stumbled with a bit.

Plus seems to have the right style/suaveness.

His beard/mustache might need to go, although maybe not. Hell, Daniel Craig spent half of Skyfall with a thin beard.

[Panic]

All the big news outlets are very specifically saying that The Sun is reporting it. Not that they themselves have heard that it is true. I believe the BBC have said that their production insider has claimed that there is no truth to the rumour.

[ChrisIII]

Yeah I'm a bit skeptical myself. There were a lot of rumors in '04 that Brosnan would be replaced by Clive Owen. While the Brosnan being fired bit was true, the Owen rumors certainly weren't.

[Panic]

My understanding is that a shell-company has to be set up in order for things to start to go ahead on a Bond film. All the money has to go through that, and until Eon has one for the next film (it's usually called simply 'Bond [the number of the film]') they can't start the process, which is to hire scriptwriters and a director. After they have a script and a director, then they start casting. For example: Martin Campbell was brought on-board Casino Royale, and once he was in place they started formal auditions for the new 007. Cambell as director got a vote for who the next Bond would be (he preferred Cavil as he was virtually unknown, iirc, but Eon favoured Craig and in the end he agreed), so you would imagine the director of the next film would be involved in the casting of the new Bond.

So if Eon work in the same way they have been doing for the last twenty years or so, before the new Bond actor is announced we should be hearing about scriptwriters being hired, THEN the new director, THEN the new Bond actor. So far we haven't got any of that.

Some people have pointed out that Eon have got a project called "Bullets for Winter" that appears to be entering production, and that it could actually be a new Bond film 'in disguise'. Denis Villeneuve is a big Bond fan, was in talks to direct the last one (but it clashed with Dune), and has recently said that he has a secret project that he'd like to start but that it would have to start very soon if it is going to happen - some fans have speculated that this might be the next Bond and that he's prodding Eon a little to get a move on. All that is speculation, however, so far there is nothing solid and Barbara Broccoli has denied that anything is happening at the moment.

[achilles]

I don't know, at this point I feel Bond is played out. He fit a certain zeitgeist that doesn't exist anymore, far too heavily dependent on the audience either being in the Cold War, or at least having some personal memory of it. Still, he was able to continue for a while after the end of the Cold War because he was still mostly the only game of that sort in town. But now....we've sort of limped to an ending of the Craig Bonds, we've seen it all a thousand times before, and have had a host of Bond stand-in movies, some of which were considerably better than the main Bond franchise has been.

Those are my thoughts on Bond these days, so naturally I feel sort of "meh" about anyone they cast because I'm sort of "meh" about the Bond franchise continuing at all. IMO, it's seen it's best days and should be allowed to lie fallow. Maybe some day, it's time will come again, but to my mind that day isn't today.

[Panic]

The franchise will always be popular in the UK because he's the only big, contemporary hero we have. I suspect the interest in the franchise will never die out here.

[thwhtGuardian]

I don't know, at this point I feel Bond is played out. He fit a certain zeitgeist that doesn't exist anymore, far too heavily dependent on the audience either being in the Cold War, or at least having some personal memory of it. Still, he was able to continue for a while after the end of the Cold War because he was still mostly the only game of that sort in town. But now....we've sort of limped to an ending of the Craig Bonds, we've seen it all a thousand times before, and have had a host of Bond stand-in movies, some of which were considerably better than the main Bond franchise has been.

Those are my thoughts on Bond these days, so naturally I feel sort of "meh" about anyone they cast because I'm sort of "meh" about the Bond franchise continuing at all. IMO, it's seen it's best days and should be allowed to lie fallow. Maybe some day, it's time will come again, but to my mind that day isn't today.

Limped?

No Time to Die made 774 Million Dollars, and was the third highest grossing Bond film of all time. The two above it? Skyfall and Spectre. Heck, even adjusted for inflation only Thunderball and Goldfinger top the Criag Bond films.

It's totally cool not to enjoy the latest batch of films, (taste is subjective)but to try and say they aren't connecting with a modern audience on the whole? You're just being silly.

[ChrisIII]

Some of the films have cold war-centric plots but are kind of the B-plot, especially after the 60s. Occasionally Bond tangles with a third party that might destabilize the two powers (SPECTRE in the 60s with the Lector caper/killing agents from both sides in Instanbul), and the capsules being stolen in YOLT), or works with a fellow agent from the opposing power to Western (Anya, Wei Lin) but that's it most of the time....

OCTOPUSSY, LIVING DAYLIGHTS and GOLDENEYE have Bond go against Russian generals as the main villain's henchmen, but they are Rogues largely trying to cover their tracks in other crimes.

[achilles]

Limped?

No Time to Die made 774 Million Dollars, and was the third highest grossing Bond film of all time. The two above it? Skyfall and Spectre. Heck, even adjusted for inflation only Thunderball and Goldfinger top the Criag Bond films.

It's totally cool not to enjoy the latest batch of films, (taste is subjective)but to try and say they aren't connecting with a modern audience on the whole? You're just being silly.

I didn't say that. I specifically stated several times that it was all my opinion. You are perfectly free to disagree. But I am entitled to my own opinion.

[thwhtGuardian]

I didn't say that. I specifically stated several times that it was all my opinion. You are perfectly free to disagree. But I am entitled to my own opinion.

And as I said, it's perfectly cool to personally not dig Bond any more...but your post went beyond expressing that.

You specifically said, "we've sort of limped" and "we've seen it all before" and "far too heavily dependent on the audience either being in the Cold War, or at least having some personal memory of it." Those are your own personal feelings that you are attempting to attribute to the general audience which goes beyond a simple personal preference and to top it off it was objectively and very obviously untrue.

Again, that you personally don't care for something isn't an issue, but pretending that said preference is shared by the audience as a whole is an issue. And why do it? There's nothing wrong with disliking something that is popular or vice versa; I'm not a fan of the Walking Dead but I'm not going to try and say that my opinion is shared by more than just myself and likewise Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is one of my favorite films but you're not going to see me say that it was a huge success. I just own that sometimes my opinions don't line up with the general audience and I have no problem with that.

[Jokerz79]

He'd make a fine Bond, But I really want no matter who is cast is an old school Bond film. A Charming lead and I know it's subjective but while a great actor I've never found Craig to be charming. So, a charming lead, cool gadgets, and a little bit of silliness to it meaning the film doesn't take itself too seriously.

[useridgoeshere]

If they do want him, they better act fast before he gets locked up for 2 Kraven, Krav3n, and Sinister Six. His schedule is going to be packed with Sony project for the next few years.

[ChrisIII]

One thing about Bond being relevant, the films have had a tendency to jump on cultural trends in film.

It's a major element in the Moore films which take inspiration from Shaft, Bruce Lee films, Spielberg and Star Wars at different points; later on, License to Kill was compared to a "Miami Vice" episode as well as LETHAL WEAPON and DIE HARD (It also used the same composer, Michael Kamen, although that's partly because John Barry retired, partly because of frustration working with the 80's groups brought in for the last two films), DIE ANOTHER DAY largely seemed to take some influence from the then new-FAST AND FURIOUS and MATRIX films.

Craig's earlier films were of course compared to BOURNE, later on they seem to have a touch of the still-going Legacy Sequel trend with a semi-retired Bond being brought back into action-twice, in SKYFALL and NO TIME TO DIE.

[Ramsay Snow]

He'd make a fine Bond, But I really want no matter who is cast is an old school Bond film. A Charming lead and I know it's subjective but while a great actor I've never found Craig to be charming. So, a charming lead, cool gadgets, and a little bit of silliness to it meaning the film doesn't take itself too seriously.

He's a good actor, so he'd probably do alright, but there are far better choices out there.

I loved most of the Daniel Craig bond films, although they were kind of ruined by the Blofeld origin (A bit too far-fetched having him and Bond with a shared childhood history).

I was fine with the overall premise of the newer Bond films, but I think it would be fun to make the next series set during The Cold War. Go back to its roots with modern filmmaking techniques added in......There are a myriad of possibilities with that, which could put Bond in an interesting niche which sets it aside from all these Bond-esque film series which are polluting theaters nowadays (John Wick, Taken, The Equalizer, Mission Impossible). There are so many out there, and some of them take the theme to ridiculous heights......Bond was never seen as particularly realistic, but some of these knockoffs kind of go the extra mile.

[ChrisIII]

The Bond films have never really come super close to adapting the books-even the Dalton and Craig films which have Bond's characterization a bit closer to the Fleming canon largely still stick to the Bond film tropes-CASINO ROYALE for example tossed in a bunch of action scenes that are nowhere in the book.

Maybe something like the Dynamite comics series which generally do have a touches of the movie's spectacle but really kind of stick the Fleming style in the writing.