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Q and Moneypenny are more important than Blofeld. There's embracing the legacy and resorting to fanservice. Blofeld appeared in 6 films in total. What's wrong with creating new reoccuring villains? Could you see Brosnan fighting him or Craig? I can't. He was perfect for Connery and Lazenby. That's how it should be.
Well if it has to be done at all, I would permit it to be done this way faithful to Fleming's "Master of Disguise", the Blofeld who was an early exponent of the criminal advantages of extreme plastic surgery makeovers to escape capture.
For a start, Q is not a Fleming character (yes, there was Q Branch but Q never appeared, though he was mentioned a few times), Miss Moneypenny appeared fleetingly and her relationship with Bond was more developed in the films. M of course needs to be there (as Bond's immediate boss to give him his orders and assignment) even if the other two strictly speaking do not.
Let me say the only way I would want Blofeld done is if he was faithful to Fleming in a way not ever seen before (Telly Savalas in OHMSS aside) and where the story arc we missed out on 1962-1971 could be done properly according to the "Gospel" of the SPECTRE/Blofled Trilogy". I also think that Quantum's story arc needs resolution in the next film or indeed films and Blofeld and SPEWCTRE should be left for a new Bond actor to tackle. There are plenty of other Fleming Bond villains that were never properly used for the films either you know. And @Murdock is right - look at the hash that they made of Khan's return in Star Trek: Into Darkness. Be careful what you wish for as they say...there's nothing stopping them making a hash of Blofeld yet again (DAD anyone?).
Yes Blofeld and Spectre is always an option, unlike other villains, which are novel or story specific The precedent was set by Eon in the first run of 12 films.
Spectre first turns up in DN. Blofeld and Spectre were worked into FRWL too and later Blofeld turns up again in DAF and he was intended to be in TSWLM too.
Eon from the very beginning was using Blofeld and/or Spectre beyond the Fleming novels in which he appeared. Felix Leiter has similar flexibility.
So, Blofeld and/or Spectre is always an option. The precedent is long established. Doesn't mean you can't do other things too. Blofeld can be set aside, indulged, whatever.
He's flexible that way.
Truth is, I firmly believe Bond films will outlive us all, even those of us that are as young as 15, and recently exposed to the exciting world of 007. Holmes has been around for more than a century. The Holmes films go way back and continue to this day on both TV and film.
Going forward there is plenty of room for both new characters and fresh battles with Enrnst.
Someday I wouldn't be surprised if some of the classic titles are remade.
(but on other hand I think they will have Blofeld as a cameo in B24 to use the rights to him that they regained last year or so)
Actually, Holmes had far more enemies than Bond, practically a different one in every story! Blofeld was established by Fleming himself as Bond's nemesis and not even OHMSS truly did him justice (and certainly not his later appearances). He was certainly not left with his dignity intact. Yes, by all means do not overuse him. But take Blofeld back from the source material where he was so well written. Reread his introduction in TB and see how he needs to be reestablished.
To me, Blofeld is far more important to Bond than Q and even Moneypenny. Khan failed in Star Trek Into Darkness because they took the name and did nothing with the original character. Cumberbatch is a good actor and can play the psycho very well, but he did not exactly look, acted (to be fair his character was poorly written) as the exotic uberman raised into the rank of dictator, with followers worshiping him like a god. Instead we had a whitewashed, run of the mill villain with a British accent. If they ever make this mistake for Blofeld, I will be the first to voice my fury.
I suspect if Blofeld was brought back, he would not be killed. Just as Eon kept him breathing post both YOLT, OHMSS ( which he survived anyway in book) and DAF.
There is no way to bring Tracy back unless one did a remake of OHMSS.
Other Bond-girls whose demises weren't so critical to Bond's story, might conceivably reappear someday. In some future continuity Bond reconnects with Honey Ryder and they have another adventure. DN will be referenced as part of their past, but not necessarily as 1962 past. It's movieland. Almost anything can be contrived, and I do think Bond films will be made for another 100 years or longer.
Warner Brothers, DC Comics and Christopher Nolan were damn smart with their reboot of Batman no? The Joker, Bane, Two-Face and Scarecrow....they all were brought back in a more realistic way. And to great effect.
Some (I'm not a big Marvel fan) movies from the Marvel-universe brought some pretty compelling henchmen back as well. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" was in a way as dark and gritty as The Dark Knight. The new Captain America and its villains are at least way better than originally portrayed in those very very very bad 1st and 2nd Captain America films (1979 and 1990).
Now I don't want to say that EON should do this with Bond 24. But the fact that the Bond producers are casting "one hell of a henchman" for the 24th film, is in a way a turn-back to those times when Oddjob and Jaws basically "helped" the Bond films score big. It's not exactly bringing back Jaws, but we know what EON is doing now: They are drawing inspiration from iconic henchmen in the past and want to bring such a henchman back into today's geopolitical world, into the rebooted "Bond-universe".
So I really really don't see why it is "unoriginal", "bad" and "uncreative" to bring back 'Q', 'Moneypenny', a male 'M' in an office that represents Bernard Lee's taste for interior decoration......and, indeed, I especially don't see why it is "bad" to bring back one of Fleming's most iconic villain ever: Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
In a way, I still see Skyfall's 'Silva' as a reinvigorated 'Doctor No':
--> Both villains had physical mutilated disformaties (No's hand vs. Silva's jaw)
--> Both villains had a more or less late show-up, but their entrance was grand and evoking
--> Both villains talked in such beautiful poetical words
--> Both villains had an agenda of revenge (No's 'R' in SPECTRE of revenge vs Silva's hate towards the UK and MI6)
So now it's time for Blofeld.
And I agree with Gustav_Graves: sure, classical villains were messed up recently, but some were actually redone properly. And those who were messed up were so because they used the name of the villain and nothing else.
Yup, agreed. But hey, let's wait and see. I do have a distinct feeling though that the leading villain of Bond 24 is a bit of a Largo-esque figure, who is the sole executioner of a more diabolical plan initiated by a bigger, criminal mastermind a la Blofeld.
With that in mind it could very well be that the return of Blofeld will be as slow as the introduction of Blofeld in the 1960's Bond films "From Russia With Love" and "Thunderball".
Having said that I can understand the rumours of Chiwetel Ejiofor actually playing a Nr.2-like villain, whereas the casting of Nr.1 -Blofeld- is a much closer guarded secret within the walls of EON.
This is the most significant point regarding this issue.
I'm not against Blofeld returning per se as the character was never really done justice to in the 60's.
However unless you reboot Tracy as well (so basically remake OHMSS) then you lose 80% of the relationship between Bond and Blofeld. The fact that he killed Bond's wife is what makes him stand out in the canon, not his villainy.
A rebooted Blofeld sans Tracy is simply another cinematic Bond villain a la Stromberg, Carver or Silva. And if youre only going to use him as a standard villain then why waste the name of Blofeld given the years of slog with Mcclory EON went through to acquire the rights to use him again?
When the time is right (certainly after Craig's tenure) then maybe reboot the whole Blofeld arc but not now.
Actually if we are going down that road then I could happily live with a Nolan Blofeld quadrilogy for the new Bond actor which deals with the relationship between Bond and Blofeld in the books but updated things and was not quite a reboot. So a Blofeld Begins where we have a classic Bond film in the vein of TB (but not a TB reboot) where Blofeld is the secondary villain and perhaps Tracy is introduced, The Dark Bond where Tracy dies and Blofeld ends triumphant and The Darker Bond where Bond hunts down Blofeld and then ends up with amnesia wandering around Vladivostok and then perhaps The Dark Bond Rises where we finally have the assassination attempt on M and Bond being back to normal by the end ready to hand over to the next actor.
All that needs a fair bit of polish - but you get the general idea.
A largely agree with you. I also think the return of Blofeld should be done properly. I understand your concerns also. Blofeld = the villain who killed Bond's wife. But in a way we can now also say that from Vesper. Indirectly, Quantum's Mr White and Le Chiffre-type also "killed" Vesper. And perhaps we can see a small homage to Vesper in Bond 24.
Having said that, I do not think it's "dangerous" to disconnect Blofeld from Tracy. We have a new "timeliness" now, in which "Casino Royale" was the starting point. Perhaps this new Blofeld could make some serious nasty remarks about Vesper? Or what about a storyline where Bond gets confused when he sees a doppelganger of Vesper? As a means of luring Bond into a trap?
Apart from that, I think Blofeld can already be slowly introduced towards the end of Bond 24, as some kind of cameo. There's nothing wrong with that. It's rather safe. Also, eventually, Blofeld should be, OFF COURSE NOT, a mere cheesy villain. But having seen Le Chiffre-type, Mr White and Silva I'm pretty sure we can trust the screenplay writers.
We tend to forget John Logan. Off course he's not on the project anymore. And I'm not sure if he will be credited for Bond 24. All information I know, is that Sam Mendes and Craig found Logan's draft too serious, lacking.more fun and humor.
But perhaps his initial idea, his basic story and plot is still intact. And perhaps Purvis & Wade are now the script polishers. We also know that Logan once said, the return of Blofeld could be done. So perhaps the ground work for bringing back Blofeld has already been done properly. Perhaps the "masterplan" is already there (Don't forget that Logan was initially hired to pen a screenplay that was overlapping Bond 24 and Bond 25).
Now about Craig. I firmly believe he will do a 5th Bond film. Tom Cruise is doing a 5th MI-film. And besides that, doing recurring characters in Hollywood has become more of a trend lately. Look to all the superhero franchises from Marvel and Dc Comics. Despite the longer gaps between movies, (Oscar-winning) actors don't mind returning in such a film. So I can perfectly see Craig doing a 5th film, set for release in 2018. He loves the role, he's way more involved in the franchise, also creatively. Something Bronnen could only dream off.
So bringing back Blofeld during the Craig-era? Why not? And perhaps after Mendes, Nolan can be lured into doing Bond 25? And perhaps even then Craig loves to stay in the role even longer. Let's see.
This is maybe my biggest reservation about using Blofeld at this point. That and the fact that you may need him as a "hook" for Craig's successor.
But as Gustav Graves said, you can already introduce him slowly, as a shadowy villain.
The main problem with the Craig/Cruise comparison is, that Cruise looks about 10 years younger than Craig (give or take 2 years). I see heavy flack coming my way,but I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts,that this is his last stint in the 00 section. Also I believe,that Wizzard is spot on with his comment about Blofeld not being a nemesis without killing Tracy. If they are not willing to go full hog (i.e. remaking OHMSS) they might as well let him rest in his chimney in London.
I remember very well that Bond fans where saying about "Le Chiffre" that if they wouldn't cast a fatty, big, obese actor for the role, then it would be 200% a big failure. Because Le Chiffre in the novel is rather big".
I'm pretty damn certain that if the link between Blofeld and Tracy is cut loose, then it can still result in a top notch Bond spy thriller. I'm not worried about that. Let some creative freedom guide your ideas, not an über-conservative approach.
He's going after Mr. White though.
And "Mr White's" real name could be Ersnt Stavro Blofeld ;-). I remember that last scene in "QOS" during the Tosca Opera. Mr White: "Well, Tosca isn't for everyone....". He's still out there!
And it could be anything else. It could be J.W. Pepper for all we know. ;)
Please can we stop with this 'Mr White is some epic villain that needs hunting down' stuff?
This is the guy who gets sent into jungle on errands to warlords or carries out assassinations - he's nowhere near being top man even in Quantum which is a pretty feeble imitation of SPECTRE so please lets not start basing plots around Bond hunting him down.
He's just Vargas in a more expensive suit.
If that were the case then he wouldn't have been in QoS. He has some level of importance.
Does he? In QOS he appears because MI6 capture him, and that's not because he's important it's because he's their only contact with Quantum.
In his only other scene he just sits there saying nothing while the big boys discuss the group's global plans. And remember in that scene it's Greene dishing out all the orders as if he's in charge but it later transpires even he is way down the pecking order when he's executed (quite probably by White).
So the best I can say about him is that he's at Mcdonalds branch manager level with perhaps a handful of gherkin choppers underneath him. Ronald McDonald he most certainly ain't.
The only way he could end up being Blofeld would be to devote a good portion of a film to how he plots and works his way up Quantum to take over. This seems a lot of effort to go to on behalf of the scriptwriters just to shoe horn in a loose end that no one really cares about save for a few people on here.
And do people really want Blofeld, if he is to be rebooted, to end up being played by Jesper Christensen?
Good though he was in a minor (emphasis on minor) role, if it's going to happen, as I suspect is inevitable at some point in the next 3 films, then it has to be someone at a Bardem level. And are we advocating rewarding a bloke who slagged off the series in public with the plum role of Blofeld?
Mr White got away - live with it. I really don't see having 'Bond must hunt down Mr White' as a starting point for a script that will take us anywhere particularly interesting.
If we're going to go Swedish for Ernst then the guy who played Magnusson in Sherlock would be a no brainer (although I fear he's already shot his bolt there and if he came to Bond he would be unfairly compared to his Sherlock role where the writing is far better) or the always excellent Stellan Skaasgard but again he has played a lot of villains.
Hmm, I was just fantasizing a bit eh :-P. Don't take it too seriously.
THE PTS
I do think that, in order to maintain a bit of continuity, it would be good to link a possible introduction of Blofeld to QUANTUM. Perhaps Mr White can have a cameo in the PTS? The first Bond-less PTS ever since TMWTGG! In that PTS, Mr White gets assasinated while he's being chased by the leading henchman of the film. The leading henchman kills Mr White in a cruel way (with some Silva-esque psychotic traits).
2ND-SUB PLOT
We don't know exactly why, but at the end of the movie it turns out that a "sinister faceless unknown mastermind" actually took over QUANTUM and restructured it completely, with more fierce, autocratic rule over his members (You could call that "Nr.1"-character Blofeld?). That QUANTUM, as turns out later, becomes the new SPECTRE. This is off course the 2nd, sub-plot of the movie.
MAIN VILLAINS PLOT
The main villains plot, after the PTS, is the first "most ambitious plan/mission" from the restructured crime syndicate, which name, SPECTRE, we only get to know at the end of the film. That ambitious mission will be executed by the lead villain, not being Blofeld. He is a Largo-esque "Nr.2"-like executioner and he could very well be played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
What about that idea @TheWizardOfIce ;-). Sound pretty nice eh? And with some bit of continuation added to it as well..... :P
Maybe have to rejig the PTS a little though - call me unimaginative and a pathetic fanboy but now we have to wait 3 years a film I'm not sure I can tolerate a PTS sans Bond.
Especially given we have been starved of the classic GB-action laden PTS-title sequence formula since 2002.
Its childish I know but just give me the GB and a massive TSWLM/GE stunt and I will be happy right from the off. After that you can get into the character introspection and reintroduction of Quantum if you want.