Over the last two or three years there have been more “who will be the next James Bond?” articles than the blog can count. The latest example: A Jan. 7 article on the U.K, edition of Esquire’s website.
Esquire goes through a number of the usual suspects — Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddelston, among them.
Meanwhile, hard-core Bond fans ask why? After all there’s no vacancy for the part. Daniel Craig has been announced to star in Bond 25. And he apparently has more clout than other 007 actors, with his name mentioned in the same breath (in press releases) as Eon Productions principals Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
Here’s one guess.
The general public, over almost 60 years of Eon’s film series, has been conditioned to having a new Bond actor emerge every decade or so. Sometimes, the tenure is longer (Roger Moore’s 1973-85 run), sometimes less (George Lazenby’s single film, Timothy Dalton’s two). But overall, a decade or so has emerged as the expected run.
After 10 years? The entertainment media starts getting antsy. Moore seemed to be done after 1981’s For Eyes Only yet came back for two more movies. But by that point, Moore was signing up for one movie at a time.
Daniel Craig has been the Bond of record since October 2005, when he was announced as the star of 2006’s Casino Royale. During Craig’s run, there have been one four-year break (between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall) and one of longer than four years (between SPECTRE and the February 2020 release date for Bond 25).
Craig, to date, has only equaled the number of 007 films by Pierce Brosnan. No matter. There’s an element of the fan base, not to mention the entertainment media, that wants to know what’s new?
Essentially Craig is going through what Roger Moore experienced between 1981 and 1985. Roger’s coming back. Great. But who’s the new guy going to be? Craig turns 51 on March 2. Moore turned 58 the fall after A View to a Kill came out.
Bond 25 is scheduled to start production in early March. So maybe this will die down for a while. Still, don’t be surprised if the “who’s going to be the next Bond?” fervor doesn’t reignite sooner than later.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Bond 25, Casino Royale, Daniel Craig, Eon Productions, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, SPECTRE |
The Spy Command 
The Rate at how Eon Productions is Moving, Probably when and if there’s a Bond 26 film in the Future. the Present supposed Contenders would be too old to Play James Bond 007. in my opinion. it’s now or never for Actors like Henry Cavill , Tom Hiddelston,, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba.
As a diehard Bond fan…it’s not so much the question of who will be the next James Bond…the question is Why has it been so long in between movies? We have heard the variety of reasons but seriously…Can’t the franchise just be open with the fans? After all…Don’t we buy the tickets to help determine whether a movie will be a success or failure? The franchise is not a new kid in the block. They have run into issues in the past.So…what really is the issue? Is it too many bosses…not enough chiefs? Is the franchise getting to be old hat…a thing of the past? I SURE HOPE NOT! BOND to me is like a fine wine…it should get better with age! Any obstacle should be handled as quickly as possible…no excuses…no blaming someone else. Fans don’t want to know the issues…we expect a movie that will SHOW Bond is still at the head of the pack in the spy genre and still a classy and action packed movie! We await…for our first taste of B25! As always….KEEP BONDING! 💘 Denise