James Bond remains a man of mystery as ‘next chapter’ talks yet to begin
A very large question mark remains over the future of James Bond. Photo: TND/AP
Two years after a visibly-relieved Daniel Craig farewelled the role of a lifetime, his successor as James Bond has yet to be announced.
And die-hard fans will have to wait even longer to get a glimpse of the new 007.
Producer Barbara Broccoli told The Guardian that executives haven’t started the process of modernising the iconic franchise.
With Craig, they had “wanted to focus on what a 21st-century hero would look like”.
“Daniel gave us the ability to mine the emotional life of the character … and also the world was ready for it,” she said.
“I think these movies reflect the time they are in, and there’s a big, big road ahead reinventing it for the next chapter and we haven’t even begun with that.”
James Bond has been portrayed by seven actors in film over the years – all of whom have been white and male.
Whatever the outcome of the franchise executives’ deliberations, the character is likely to undergo a complete revamp.
Likely to be a man
No Time to Die introduced the first female 007 agent (played by Lashana Lynch), but the character of James Bond is likely to remain a man; Broccoli has previously said more female characters should be created rather than turning male characters into women.
Other than gender, the sky appears to be the limit when it comes to possible changes; with recent improvements in diverse representation on screen, male actors of any race or age could potentially step into the role.
Big names such as Idris Elba, Henry Golding and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have been among the many possible next-gen James Bonds speculated by the media and public.
Debut reality series
There may be no new James Bond films visible on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean the franchise is dormant.
A Bond-themed Prime Video reality series, 007 Road to a Million, is set to debut in November.
This marks the first time the Bond brand has been allowed to be used in unscripted TV.
Hosted by Succession star Brian Cox, the global adventure series will feature nine pairs of everyday British contestants who will endure physical and psychological challenges in Bond-related locations to win £1 million ($1.9 million).
Broccoli hopes to make versions of the show featuring international contestants eventually, but feature films remain the main focus of the James Bond team.
“When we get going on a Bond movie it takes our full attention for three or four years, so that’s our focus,” she said.
“We make the Bond movies for the big theatrical screen, and everything about the Bond movies is for audiences to see around the world on that format, so we’ve not wanted to do television.”
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