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It wouldn’t matter to me in principle if Malek is No. It would depend on how well (or badly) they executed the idea. But I doubt they would go down the route of a straightforward villain reboot. They’re more likely to do some nuances or subtle hints that only a small part of the audience would get, a bit like the way that the wound on Waltz’s face at the end of SP calls back to Pleasance’s scar in YOLT.
I really, really, really hope we see a Garden of Death. And an octopus fight!
I am hopeful NTTD can indeed be a great Bond film and make SP look better. Going into Bond 25 I definitely would have much preferred the classic standalone approach with all-new characters outside Bond + the MI6 gang and Felix, but of course the Craig era has a much tighter continuity than the films before. Though it wouldn't be my own first choice, the direction they're going gives them an opportunity to reach really epic heights and redeem much about SP that didn't work - especially Blofeld.
My preferred approach moving forward is still standalone Bond adventures which I hope they go back to with the next actor + era, but I am hopeful NTTD can successfully carry the big load of being a great Bond film as well as redeeming SP to some extent. I do love QOS, so I don't immediately dismiss a direct sequel, but after SP I am wary. I also think in general a standalone approach is just easier in making great Bond films and keeping longevity.
I guess my only problem with the DC era is the way it keeps getting retconned. They had no plans of Spectre and instead made Quantum and then throwing in the Silva connection at the last minute in Spectre. Mr White & M were meant to be killed off in QOS and somehow both became pivotal story points in the next two films. I just wish they pre planned slightly thus being able to probably go back to a release every two or three years.
I have loved the Craig era, even though Spectre is terribly weak. And it eventually ate at me. But it was a collective failure in desperate times: they needed to release a film... and the material they went into production with was messy. Very messy. All the way through. And it was so bad Mendes wanted to leave (and they should have let him go, shelve the film, and start fresh-- easier said than done when you have partners that need to meet the bottom line, or financial forecasts).
With B25 there were issues. I heard from people close to the production that the Boyle/Hodge script really didn't sit well with anyone -- they may have had a "golden idea" pre-script stage, but...;
Once the script was done, no one liked it. The Boyle vision wanted to "re-make" Bond. Craig butted heads with this, and;
So did Universal. The "golden idea" was still there (whatever that was), but the script lacked...
It was proposed to Boyle that new writers needed to come on board to punch the script/action into proper gear.
I understand that's when Boyle declined-- he didn't want anyone but himself and Hodge to do re-writes.
This led to the parting of the ways.
And here's where I have full confidence in the new film:
Broccoli wasnt held ransom by Boyle's vision.
She and her team then reached out to the film community immediately to interview interested filmmakers...
Fukunaga came calling-- and supposedly this wasn't his first time.
And, Fukunaga, being a great story-teller tossed out everything from Boyle and started afresh.
And from what I see from the trailer, it is far more interesting than the the trailer they gave us for Spectre.
Bond is under siege in the new trailer, both emotionally (he thinks Madeleine has betrayed him), and physically (he has to out-run the assassins trying to kill them).
There is far more URGENCY in this trailer than all of Spectre the film.
+1. Especially to your last point about the element of urgency that's apparent in this trailer. What I LOVE about NTTD already is that it seems to be combining Casino Royale's dynamism and the directness of Quantum of Solace; I know most don't enjoy QoS, but for me, it moves at a clip and nothing feels wasted. Skyfall and Spectre were polished but moved ploddingly along. Here, it's a totally different story.
If she is 007, then I have to imagine they've handled it such that Bond gets his title back. I just don't see the producers letting Bond not have his number back at the end of the film. Just seems like political suicide. They're wiser than that.
If my hunches are right, my question is how do they get Bond's number reassigned?
They're not just going to say, 'welcome back Bond, here's your old number. Sorry Nomi, you get 0050 now.' I feel that goes against the strong female character thing they're going for in this film.
That makes me wonder if Nomi either dies or ends up as a traitor. It seems like the only way they could make it work.
I can't help but think Nomi's a femme fatale/the "bad" Bond girl that starts out as an ally to Bond but ends up being a traitor (possibly working for Safin). If they go that route in the film I wouldn't complain.
The way I'd ask people to view the relationship is to imagine if Craig's James Bond had to meet the former 007. I think Nomi and Bond are gonna find that they are more similar than they may think.
even this being Craig's last Bond film (for now anyway, who really knows anymore lol), i still can't envision them having Bond end this film retired and no longer 007... if SP were Craig's last movie, the ending could've been seen as more ambiguous, did he retire? or was he just on paid leave? it could've been spun different ways.. obviously, NTTD confirms that he indeed walked away from MI6... but what i dont want to see is yet another reboot of this franchise.. a new actor doesn't need to mean an automatic reboot, just do it like they used to do, keep it moving forward, with little reference backward.. and by doing so, i think it would be really confusing if at the end of NTTD, Bond is still retired from active duty, then in Bond 26 (with new actor) all of a sudden he's back as 007 with no explanation as to why or how..... Nomi will be bumped off somehow in this movie, Madeleine will either die or walk away from James, and Bond will be back on active duty at the end - leaving no loose ends for the new guy to have to deal with... just my opinion, and again, this hinges on if they don't reboot, but simply carry on - business as usual like the good ol' days.
agreed.
My biggest fear is you're 100% correct mate.
This is my huge worry for this film and it undermines everything they've set up since Casino.
Daniel's run as Bond has been completely unique, in that we have seen a real character arc, we've witnessed him earn his double 0 number, we witnessed him become more hardened with kills and we've witnessed him become cold hearted and emotionless because he's been betrayed and had his heart broken. We watched him become James Bond 007, which has all been phenomenal, quite honestly.
To have him leave in such a way would be so unsatisfying, it would be devastating.
By the way this isn't a dig at you @Denbigh, I think you're brilliant on here. My fear is shared in that I think you could be right.
I watched Skyfall again the other night and it's astounding how many times Bond is referred to as 007 and he even refers to himself as 007. We as an audience have witnessed him struggle, prevail and seen him first hand earn that 00 number and the trust and recognition that comes with it.
To see it be taken away in such a weak ending would be poor in my book. Also that's not a dig at Nomi nor Ms Lynch playing her, I would be disappointed if that was Henry Cavill or whoever. I feel like it's a crime almost to want to just watch a new James Bond film were he's 007 throughout, I mean it has been almost 5 years.
That's my only real fear in this because I thought the trailer was incredible and it really did blow me away. I am so ready to see Daniel back as James Bond.
Also @peter that post was a great insight into the whole Danny Boyle thing, thank you.
...and I think this idea works perfectly with his arc; from becoming 007 to growing and retiring, before witnessing the next generation become the new 007. It’s a part of all of our lives in some way, we become who we are, then when we get older, we watch those younger than us become the people we once were.
I also think they’ll avoid killing her. Cary has already mentioned avoiding “fridging” with Madeleine, so I think that’ll be the case with Nomi as well. Plus I feel like it would be less in service of the story, and more for those “Nomi-hating-extremists”, who would probably make really annoying told-you-so videos.
I think if you’re gonna do something like this, stand by it and give it as much respect as anything else in the film. While they’ve made some mistakes, I can appreciate that EON has always stuck to its own guns, and I hope they haven’t fallen at the last hurdle with Nomi.
The DB5 with machine guns in SF was a surprise that just about worked because it was a fond nod to past Bonds. In this new film they seem to be wholeheartedly embracing the fantastical elements which IMO don't suit Craig's Bond.
Unfortunately this is unavoidably tied to SP, a below par Bond film which I think NTTD will improve on. But being better than SP is hardly a big achievement.
This is kind of how I feel about NTTD as well. The trailer hints that this will be more SP part 2, than another CR (I really hope I'm wrong).
I had such high hopes with Craig's tenure when CR came out. We were back to Fleming's world again, and I thought this trend would continue throughout his era. I never realised at the time that CR was to be a one-off.
Sadly I was wrong in my hopes all those years ago, and we could be slowly steering back to generic Brosnan Bond territory again, if NTTD is similar to SP. It would suggest Babs is done with the franchise, doesn't know where to take it anymore, and needs new blood brought in to rescue it.
Someone who has the balls to go directly back to the novels, exhaust them to death, weave them Fleming scenes expertly into a story, like Cubby was doing with Maibaum in the 80's.
Wishful thinking on your part. Barbara knows exactly what she’s doing. Just go and read the novels. They’ll never be bettered.
Same here I don't believe it will be right it be so anticlimactic for his arc I think there are some twists in this film to make it seem like this.
I have to admit, I have obsessively watched the trailer over and over. The imagery is so much like classic Bond, but inside of the Craig arc-- something SPECTRE tried to do, yet ultimately failed at doing.
I have watched this trailer more times than I watched the SPECTRE trailer and film combined.
The images, Craig returning to his roots, and the mystery have me hooked.
the problem with doing a 1-off for DC's last film, is that they've spent the entirety of his tenure going out of their way to make the films all feel like they are part of one ongoing story.. SF was the exception, but that get lasso'd back into the fold by SP retconning some finer details..
so, if NTTD were is own thing, separate from everything else, IMO it just wouldn't feel right.. SP could've been the end for DC, it was very much setup to be that by Mendes if Dan had wanted out.. and had they recasted, then yes, start fresh - there would've still been some open ended question marks, but it's not like they didn't do it before.. but since he came back, i think it's only right that they wrap this whole 5 film story up and leave it in a good place for the next Bond to carry the baton and start fresh... which i do believe they will do.
Additionally every Craig Bond film acts as a sort of end story and closure. That could also play out in BOND 26 if they arrange it.
I get that, and don't particularly mind a continuous arc for Craig's tenure. However, even this final part could have shoehorned in a Fleming scene or two. Blofeld could have been Shatterhand, holed up in a castle and Felix wants Bond to do him a favour, not realising Shatterhand is Blofeld, and Bond's mission, his favour for Felix suddenly becomes a whole lot more personal (particular if Bond's new wife gets murdered by Blofeld).
See? Already we have managed to weave in Fleming very easily into a continuous arc story. This ain't rocket science, its just that since LTK (with the exception of CR), the films have taken a perverse way of avoiding any Fleming references, other than a name check here or there, and decided that P&W can do a much better job with their own world for Bond.
This is ultimately Babs doing. Cubby knew the importance of returning back to the source whenever he could. Babs claims to have done the same thing - only she has given us Fleming re-imagined, mainly under P&W, often with utter garbage results (Blofeld and Bond being brothers, for example).
well that really depends greatly on which film you are talking about - because YOLT, DAF, TSWLM, MR, FYEO and AVTAK were all sterling examples of staying true to Fleming's source material lol... but i get what you are saying...
the Blofeld brother thing - i highly doubt that that was their doing, i imagine both her and MGW were probably talked into it by Mendes and Logan - and considering the great work they both did with SF, i think Babs and MGW probably gave them the benefit of the doubt that it would go over, and it didn't - it was a wet fart - so i'm willing to bet that that aspect is addressed or brought up in NTTD.. i would be shocked..
but then you need to get Blofeld out of prison somewhere in the movie, probably at the beginning..