For now, cinema Bond remains in the past

With no news, the cinema James Bond has its eyes firmly on the past.

Examples:

/Film came out with a Sept. 17 story titled “When the James Bond Franchise Will End, According to Barbara Broccoli” Despite the provocative headline, there aren’t any recent quotes.

Still, there is hype like this:

All we know so far is that the new Bond definitely won’t be Taron Egerton, but an official announcement regarding who will wield the famous Walther PPK next is surely imminent. Otherwise, the future of the character is as uncertain as it’s ever been — not necessarily because Bond is in danger of disappearing, but because anything seems possible at this point.

Surely imminent? We’ll see about that.

Vanity Fair hyped a story about alternative Marvel movie castings, including how Daniel Craig was considered for the role of Thor more than a decade ago but passed because he already was playing Bond. Vanity Fair promoted the story emphasizing Craig in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Bond fan groups and YouTube channels this year noted the 60th anniversary of From Russia With Love, the 50th anniversary of Live And Let Die and the 40th anniversaries of Octopussy and Never Say Never Again. This month, other fan outlets have played up the 59th anniversary of Goldfinger. Why wait for a nice round number like 60?

All of this, of course, is because there’s nothing actually new to talk about. Early this year, there was speculation about a new Bond actor. Remember how Aaron Taylor-Johnson supposedly was close to being cast?

More recently, there’s been speculation about a new Bond director. It’s likely the selection of a director would take place before a new leading man.

So it goes. In the absence of news, interest in Bond must turn backward instead of foward.