We know that eventually James Bond will be back. We don’t know when Bond 26 will hit theaters, and we don’t even know who will be taking over the role of the superspy from Daniel Craig. We have heard some hints and rumors, including the idea that the next Bond film, which is expected to be directed by Denis Villeneuve, could be an origin story of 007. That gave me an idea.
You Have To Go Back To The Original Casino Royale
Acting legend David Niven is one of the eight actors who have played James Bond, but if you’re unfamiliar with his movie, 1967’s Casino Royale, you aren’t alone. The movie is really a satire of the character and the series, and is not part of the official Eon catalog. However, there is something from it that I think could be a fun idea to play with in the official series. You see, in the movie, Niven plays an older, retired 007 brought back to deal with a threat.
We find out that there are multiple “James Bonds” and that when the “original Bond” (Niven) retired, both his number (007) and his name were given to other agents. What if the official franchise used this approach for its next secret agent? The Craig-Era Bond is dead, as we saw in No Time To Die, so MI6 must recruit a new 007, and a new “James Bond.” It’s a way to do a soft reboot of the series, without wiping clean all that went before in the Craig-Era. Seriously, how much fun would that be?
A new, young Bond, but in the same universe as Craig's. No need to recast everyone, just find a young Navy officer and recruit him into the secret life of an MI6 agent with the same boss that Craig had, same Q, same Moneypenny, same…everything. This might be a way to get me on board with an origin story.
I Don’t Love The Idea Of An Origin Story
I am on the record as saying the idea of a Bond origin story isn’t what I want from the series, even if it almost seems destined to happen in Bond 26. Bond fans know the spy’s history; we know about his time in the Royal Navy, we know a few things about his childhood… do we really need to see that story played out in the next film? I don’t think so.
However, making it a new “James Bond” adds a spin that I would find fascinating. It makes a new origin story make sense; it fits into the canon. Ralph Fiennes could return as M, Naomie Harris could help train the recruit as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw could outfit him as Q. Everything works, and everything makes sense. No one really knows who James Bond is, because he’s the next in a line of “James Bonds” that goes back to Sean Connery. Heck, they could even spin off a TV show with another “James Bond!”
I get that this is all pretty unlikely, but let me daydream for a minute and pretend that this is where the new bosses at Amazon are going to take this. In the meantime, I’ll be watching old James Bond movies with my Netflix subscription.
