James Bond has delighted and amused moviegoers for over 60 years, making his action movie series possibly the longest-running in the business’s history. We have watched every form of the legendary spy come and go over the course of 27 movies, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, who has now ended his run as Bond with the movie No Time to Die (2021).
Since his departure, the pedestal has been vacant, and there has been no official notification of who would carry the torch. They left fans to develop their fervent theories about who it might be, but one thing is now definite. According to a Collider story, Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams said recently that a young 007 will never appear on the big screen.
Since it originally revolutionized the espionage thriller genre in the 1960s, the James Bond series has largely adhered to a lot of the same formula. Ian Fleming, a British journalist, and novelist who first created James Bond in a series of novels, is credited as the character’s creator. In the 1962 movie Dr. No, Sean Connery played the part for the first time. He would reprise it in the following six installments of the franchise.
Bond’s persona quickly rose to fame as an iconic figure in the entertainment world. One actor or another consistently played the part, and they released almost simultaneously the movies to where the franchise developed into its own mini-empire that was nearly untouchable by other spy movie rip-offs. Since hanging up the suit, Daniel Craig, who most recently played Bond for five straight movies, the longest break in the franchise’s history has occurred.
Naturally, this has led to followers offering their predictions for the potential next candidate. Idris Elba, a British actor, has emerged as a choice for the part since he has subsequently established his mettle in other movies and because he closely resembles the Bond character’s appearance. Also noted is Henry Cavill, who people today seem to like fan-casting for practically all roles. Fans and directors alike favor well-known actors for prominent roles, but taking a chance on the unknown can occasionally pay off.
This was the case with Daniel Craig, who at the time was basically unheard of and had only appeared in extremely obscure small films. He had to compete with well-known actors like Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, Orlando Bloom, and Christian Bale. He survived each one, though, and as a result, swiftly became well known. Another unknown figure could very well blast the franchise’s lid off in a similar manner. Now, McWilliams speaks about the Future of Bond
Since 1981, when Roger Moore was at the height of his time as James Bond, casting director Debbie McWilliams has kept a finger on the espionage franchise’s pulse. She is fully aware of the requirements for the iconic part by this point, which are, of course, not limited to appearances. In her interview with RadioTimes, she stated that they have never searched for someone who is on the younger side due to the lack of experience, discipline, and modesty present in younger actors.
“When we started, it was a slightly different feel…We did look at a lot of younger actors, and I just don’t think they had the gravitas. They didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take it on, because it’s not just the part they’re taking on, it’s a massive responsibility…So we kind of scrubbed that idea and went back to the drawing board and started again.”
She continued by talking about the benefits and drawbacks of casting an unproven performer, which frequently worked to their advantage. Ironically, Sean Connery was the least well-known of all the Bond actors despite being widely regarded as the franchise’s most recognizable Bond.
“Timothy Dalton was known, but he was known as a Shakespearean actor. Pierce [Brosnan] was known, but that was basically from television. Roger Moore was known on television. Sean Connery wasn’t [known] – nobody had ever heard of him. A certain audience had heard of Daniel Craig, but much more the kind of independent cinema audience. He hadn’t done any huge commercial film at all, really – [2004 film] ‘Layer Cake’, I suppose, was the most popular, should we say, of the things he had done before Bond, but he wasn’t a hugely well-known actor.”
There currently is no window for an announcement of the next James Bond, but McWilliams is sure to make a worthwhile choice when the time comes. And unfortunately for us Cavill fans, it may not be Henry Cavill.
