🔗 Share this article

It's James Bond Day, for those who didn't know – 5 October now stands as a worldwide celebration honoring all things 007, due to this being the date of the world premiere of the first Bond film, with Sean Connery, back in 1962. Imagine it comparable to May the 4th, minus the furry aliens and an abundance of tuxedoed swagger.

A Muted Celebration Currently

But on this occasion, the coming of James Bond Day feels rather underwhelming. It's only been since Denis Villeneuve was announced to helm the upcoming 007 movie back in June, and not long afterwards when Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight was hired to pen the screenplay. Yet there has been scant evidence since then regarding the next Bond being officially announced, with minimal clarity about the direction this iconic film series is headed. What remains are unconfirmed reports via the Hollywood trades implying that the producers are seeking a comparatively fresh-faced UK performer, who could be from a diverse background yet will not be a woman, a big-name celebrity, or anyone remotely familiar.

Bad News for Betting Agencies

Undoubtedly, this represents disappointing news for the many gambling platforms who have been generating substantial revenue for some time through efforts to suggest punters that the competition is among several speculated candidates along with the attractive actor featured in Saltburn who’s secretly Australian.

A Return to the Unknown

Interestingly, the previous instance the movie franchise chose an absolute newcomer was in 1969, with George Lazenby for a short time carried the famous firearm. Prior to that, the original Bond certainly wasn’t a star: he performed a few minor film roles and done a bit of stage and modelling work as well as working in physique competitions and dairy delivery in Edinburgh before taking the main character in Dr No. The creative heads intentionally rejected a well-known actor; they desired someone fresh that viewers would accept as the real 007, instead of a performer portraying Bond.

Trying this approach once more may end up as a clever decision, exactly as it was during the franchise's infancy.

Director's Influence

Yet hiring Villeneuve involved means that there's no room for error whatsoever in case the future agent proves to be wooden. Amplifying the ridiculous devices and innuendo is no longer an option when your new director is a serious filmmaker specializing in cinematic genres renowned for thoughtful science fiction where the loudest sound is profound unease.

A bruiser in a dinner jacket … Daniel Craig in 2006’s Casino Royale.

Updated Vision for James Bond

Nevertheless, in many ways, hiring Villeneuve tells us everything that are essential about the new era after Daniel Craig. We won't see stealth automobiles or double entendres, and we probably won’t be getting the southern lawman in the near future. These changes are, naturally, absolutely fine for those who prefer your 007 with a modern twist. But it doesn’t tell us how Villeneuve’s take of the elegant government hitman will stand out compared to previous Bonds from the recent past notably if the next chapter decides against to take the whole story in the initial decades.

Reinventing Every Period

Craig was immediately recognisable as a fresh version of elegant secret agent upon his debut on the scene in 2006’s Casino Royale, a bruiser in a dinner jacket who would never be caught dead in an invisible car, or exchanging suggestive lines with co-stars while defusing a nuclear warhead. He made Pierce Brosnan’s gadget-addled smoothie that just a short time before was regarded by certain critics the finest agent since the original, look like a karaoke Connery overheated and ruined. This is not unprecedented. After Connery came Lazenby, Brosnan followed the overlooked Dalton, and cheesy late-era Roger Moore followed brilliantly dead-eyed and callous early Roger Moore. All franchise chapters reshapes the previous, however, every version remains distinctively James Bond 007, worthy of celebration. It's somewhat strange, as we apparently celebrate the current 007 Day, that we are asked to honor a character who remains unidentified.