Sunday Best: Casting Call - The New James Bond

 

It was recently announced that Amazon would now be the ones who would have the controlling hand in the James Bond franchise going forward.  This means to me that they are looking to capitalize on the brand as soon as possible.

I know that many people have their misgivings about this after seeing what they have done with Tolkien's world in The Rings of Power or seen what another multi-billion corporation like Disney has done to Star Wars.

Regardless, things appear to be moving ahead.  Jeff Bezos even went to social media to see who the people think should be the next Bond.  

I thought it might be fun to through a few ideas out there.

1. Henry Cavill

This is one place where I think vox populi, vox dei.  It seems so horribly obvious that Cavill is perfect for the part.  He is strong, masculine, formidible, intelligent, and classy.  And even people who hated the DCEU and The Witcher tend to agree that he was the best part of those franchises.  Cavill has built up an incredible amount of good will with the fan base.  He would be needed change from the serious-to-dour Daniel Craig Bond.

2.  Dan Stevens

photo by Gage Skidmore

To play the aristocrat, Stevens has this down after his years on Downton Abbey.  But he has an intesity that reminds me very much of Pierce Brosnan.  I don't think his Bond would be as physically intimidating as Cavill, but he could pull off 007 as someone who is charismatic and cunning: someone who would get by on their wits.

3.  Taron Egerton

photo by Gage Skidmore

We know that he can play the action scenes, as he did in the Kingsman movies.  But as I've seen recently in his work in Blackbird, he has become a very good actor in his own right.  He would play the part a bit young, but it would be a newer take on the character.

4.  Henry Golding

Photo from World Travel and Tourism Council

Okay, this one may be a little out of the box, but hear me out.  If we take the idea that Bond's primary role is that of a spy and that we have a new cold in parts of Asia, wouldn't it make sense to have a spy who was Asian?  There would actually be a lot of opportunities for some exciting and new stories.  Golding is a charismatic actor who demonstrated his charm in Crazy Rich Asians and also his physicality with Snake Eyes.  This could be an intersting choice.

5.  Tom Hiddleston

photo by Sean Reynolds

He has been typcast into the role of Loki, which he did amazingly well.  But Hiddleston can play the heroic part.  He was great as the Henry V in The Hollow Crown and he could pull of the action leading man as we saw in Kong: Skull Island.  He could also bring a bit of the Roger Moore-era mischief and humor, which would be a refreshing change for the current franchise.

Thoughts?