It’s been three years since the last James Bond film, and considering No Time To Die ended with a franchise first – the death of 007 – fans are curious to see what the 26th Bond film will offer.
It’ll have to be a fresh reboot, much like the one instigated by the Daniel Criag era starting with Casino Royale, and so far all fans can do is speculate as to what Barbara Broccoli & Co. have got planned.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has emerged as the clear favourite to take over from Craig, but considering how much time is passing without an official announcement, a new candidate could very well swoop in at any point. In the absence of a script and a director, fans have been left to wonder who could perform the upcoming Bond theme song… And the wait is not getting any easier.
Granted, this isn’t the longest time between James Bond movies. We’d have to double it, and that has happened already. Twice.
The first six-year gap was between Timothy Dalton’s final outing, 1989’s License to Kill, and Pierce Brosnan’s debut, 1995’s GoldenEye. The second was between 2015’s Spectre and 2021’s No Time to Die.
Will it be another three years for Bond 26?
According to one key figure at Amazon (who acquired MGM in 2022 for $8.5 billion), patience is key.
Speaking with The Guardian, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said: “The global audience will be patient. We don’t want too much time between films, but we are not concerned at this point.”
Maddeningly vague, but there isn’t much anyone can do about that. Plus, a prolonged hiatus may not be the worst thing for a brand that now needs a renaissance. It worked with GoldenEye – with the added bonus of Judi Dench as M – and Casino Royale was a healthy rejuvenation that led to a Craig tenure that lasted for five films across 15 years. His Bond was incredibly popular, so it seems wise to not rush things.
However, one recent interview needs to be taken into consideration.
While there are many possibilities for a new Bond era and the casting of the iconic part, a film’s hero is only as good as its villain… Saoirse Ronan has some thoughts. And if you’re anything like us here at Euronews Culture, when Ronan speaks, you listen. Attentively.
In a recent interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the 30-year-old Irish actress and star of Hanna, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Brooklyn, Lady Bird, Little Women, Outrun and Steve McQueen’s upcoming Blitz (we’re only listing as many titles to prove that there isn’t much Ronan can’t do when she takes on a role) revealed that she would rather decline a role in a Marvel movie if that meant being cast as a James Bond villain.
When asked what her ‘affectation’ might be as a villain, such as an eye patch or a white cat, she jokingly suggested “a limp”.
Une publication partagée par Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz)
Take a moment.
Let it resonate with you.
Now gaze at this recent picture of Ronan arriving at the fourth annual Academy Museum Gala last Saturday, looking stylish and ever-so-slightly menacing.
You’re right. It’s a terrific idea – one that the Bond producers need to take on board.
Ronan would be the perfect foil for a new Bond – not just because she has the range to play any role but because she would inject an intriguing level of humanity within a level of sadism and maliciousness that we haven’t seen her fully embrace yet.
More than that, if a necessary 007 renaissance is to take place for the 26th film, so should the role of the female villain.
Traditionally, male antagonists have been the standard for the 007 franchise, and when actresses have been cast as baddies, they’ve been relegated to side-villains / secondary scoundrels.
There’s been Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) in From Russia With Love; Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) in Thunderball; Helga Brandt (Karin Dor) in You Only Live Twice; Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat) in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; May Day (Grace Jones) in A View To A Kill; Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) in GoldenEye; and Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) in Die Another Day… They’ve all left their mark but always worked as an underlining for the main (and usually male) antagonist.
And before anyone gets pedantic, Octopussy redeems herself, while Pussy Galore, Solitaire and Sévérine all change sides in Goldfinger, Live And Let Die and Skyfall respectively. As for Vesper Lynd, she was only trying to save her boyfriend in Casino Royale. To call her a villain would be heartless.
The only one that got close to breaking the frankly unimaginative, bordering on misogynistic trend was Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) in The World Is Not Enough. However, even her devilishness was explained away as hightened Stockholm syndrome, thereby giving her captor Renard (Robert Carlyle) the puppet strings throughout the runtime.
It’s time the Bond series had a properly vicious primary female villain, and casting an actress of Ronan’s versatility and charisma could not only break the antiquated trend, but also take the franchise in a bold new direction.
Simply put, this is too good an opportunity to miss.
And it could get better…
During the same interview with Happy Sad Confused, Ronan tipped her husband, 34-year-old Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden, to be the next James Bond.
Cast them together, and you have a metatextual dynamic for the ages that would not only revitalize the series but bring in a new generation of intrigued moviegoers to the theatres.
Here’s hoping the Bond producers are taking notes. And that they won’t make us wait another three years for the next chapter in the franchise. They probably will though… Here are our current predictions:
When will the cast / title be announced? Late 2026.
Who will play the new Bond? Whoever gets mentioned in conversation ends up not getting it. The second a name is considered a dead cert, it almost rules them out for good. Daniel Craig was not on anyone’s radar at the time; so as much as we’d like Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Jack Lowden, it’s almost definitely not them. But that rule doesn’t apply to villains, so Ronan all the way.
Who will direct the new film? Wishful thinkers pine for Christopher Nolan, but he insists on final cut, something that Barbara Broccoli isn’t a fan of. David Michôd (Animal Kingdom), Yann Demange (‘71) or Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) could be interesting picks, but ultimately Eon need a safe pair of hands they know and trust for this reboot. We’re banking on Martin Campbell, who has already aced two franchise rejuvenations with two new Bonds (GoldenEye and Casino Royale). He’s still working at 80, but clock’s ticking…
Will it be set in present-day or a period reboot like many fans are suspecting? A period reboot would be a bold gambit and one which could work wonders. However, there are financial considerations to keep in mind, specifically product placement. The series is renowned for its brand tie-ins, and a 1950-1960s set revival could be a massive headache when it comes to raking in all that lovely cash… Either they go retro to the hilt and take the risk, or keep it simple and don’t change up too many things at once. We’re betting they’ll opt for the latter.
When will the next Bond film hit the big screen? Don’t hold your breath. This is one reboot they can’t afford to mess up, especially considering the dynamite box office intake of the last few Bond films and how beloved Craig was in the role. They need everything to be bulletproof. So, we’re guessing we’ll have to wait until late 2027. At the earliest.
Let’s hope Saoirse is still game by then.
