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They make him play a caricature of himself. He is actually a very capable actor.
This will interfere with having the gunbarrel at the start.
I think there are no shortage of ways to re-introduced old Ernst. I'm banking on a late-film reveal, which shows the Waltz character as having evolved into the big bad himself by movie's end.
But I don't care how it's done. Just bring back the man and his cat. Don't care at all what he looks like, or even what age. Waltz's age and look are just fine.
Re the M office, I think it's clear what we are getting, in that we saw it at the end of SF.
That's the new set-up, and it is actually new, in that we have had nothing but modern looking Dench offices since GE in 1995. That's 19-20 years.
The old office is actually a big change.
And that "old" office look never gets stale. Many executive types to this day, go for that warm, wood-paneled look.
I mean, the man is still alive. He was left with an organization that has been compromised entirely by MI6. So is his weird cover name "Mr White". I feel that if Blofeld returns, EON will let the casting for this man for at least Bond 24 completely secret.
Blofeld will then only make an introduction cameo in Bond 24. Played by Jesper Christensen. In a similar fashion to Anthony Dawson/Eric Pohlman back in the 1960's.
Waltz will stay the leading villain in the end. In Bond 24 he slowly turns from a secret ally into the Largo/Kronsteen mastermind. But the organization is led by Christensen's Blofeld.
Beside, if Blofeld uses an alias, it would more likely be based on the colour blue than White. De Bleuville, De Bleuchamp, etc.
Won't happen. Bond 24 will be a Sam Mendes film and will be built on Skyfall and the general legacy of the Bond franchise. There is NO WAY there will be any specific references to CR and QOS.
Then you did not pay good attention to the scene in "Skyfall" where 007 is exposing Severine's entire character at the bar of the Macau Casino. 007 utters the line: "I know when a girl has fear when she is pretending not to be in fear". A clear reference to the events in "Casino Royale", where Bond is exposing Vesper at the Montenegro restaurant after he has won the Pker match.
Another little reference: "Don't touch your ear!". From CR to SF. Yes, these references are not that big, but Sam Mendes has said several times he truly praised Cambell's work for "Casino Royale". Moreoever, as a spy-drama I find CR and SF quite similar in tone and style.
By the way, let's wait until after we have a confirmation that is similar to Hoyte van Hoytema's confirmation that the film will be shot on film ;-). Probably it won't happen, Jesper Christensen returning, but it is a nice idea no?
Moreover, QUANTUM and Mr White are still out there........Michael Wilson himself admitted that, while QUANTUM was not returning in "Skyfall", the organization, or a renamed syndicate (S.P.E.C.T.R.E.) might be returning in future Bond films......
"Waltz’s involvement in the new film – which has the working title ‘Bond 24’ – will be confirmed at a press conference to be held in the first week of December. Eon productions, which owns the James Bond film franchise, will announce the star is playing an unknown character called Franz Oberhauser, son of the late Hans Oberhauser, a ski instructor who acted as a father figure to Bond."
"But senior sources believe the casting is a double bluff worthy of 007 himself and that Waltz is actually playing Blofeld. One Hollywood source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Christoph Waltz is playing Blofeld in the next Bond film. The tone of the 007 films has changed significantly in recent years and the producers have changed the character to fit in with the new-look 007."
I told everyone.......many times..........
I am curious though, how they will reveal Waltz as Blofeld, when his name actually is Franz Oberhauser. I still think Daily Mail has a huge spoiler with this article, but that they didn't make the link from Oberhauser to Blofeld properly. Let's see how this turns out :-)!
I'm like a joyous little kid here :-P. All my wishes seem to be heard by the producers hehe,
Other than that, without any anniversary obligations to fulfil, I'm quite optimistic about Bond 24
And I am glad they are using unused elements of Ian Fleming's work.
Let me put it like this. I think for the return of Blofeld it is inevitable that should be a personal touch, personal reasoning behind the man. And I really really don't understand what the problem with that is. One just can't introduce Blofeld in the same way as in YOLT no? Just a reveal, a pussy stroking man, touching some buttons to kill people, and that's it?? I find THAT boring. I find that an utterly ridiculous stereotype, that Austin Powers channeled very well.
Now EON has the chance to re-introduce Blofeld in a completely new fashion. Then let's give the damn man some background history. Add gravita and complexity to the character. I want to know HOW and WHY Blofeld turned into a villain.
Regarding Bond? I agree. For Bond 24 this should not be the movie about him. CR and QOS were the movies about Bond, SF was the movie about complex relationships between M, Bond and Silva. Now let Bond 24 be the vehicle dedicated to Blofeld. Some kind of "Blofeld's Origin" movie. And within that tale, Bond this time around is indeed the well developed spy that is merely doing the mission. He goes to the office with the leather panelled door. And he follows orders, not personal reasoning and instincts.
That's how I think Bond 24 will turn out. Everyone happy now?
I agree about the appearance. Blofeld, like classic villains such as Dracula, do need to look evil. That said, like Dracula, I am not sure if he thinks what he is doing is morally right. I think they are both amoral, they disregard moral considerations. They do however think they have a certain right to act the way they do. They consider that their power (intellectual, physical or birth right) is a legitimate enough reason to use it.
So what does it mean with the casting of a character such as Blofeld? You need an actor who can embody it.
However, what he represents and his goal in the show is represented in his speech, body language and what he is prepared to do for his cause. I mentioned Ultron in the Avengers 2 trailer and although a brief glimpse, what he says and how it is said says I'm bad ass and your not and I'm going to show you why I am. If Waltz is Blofeld I'm sure he will bring what he needs to screen. The scene in IB in the farm house and even though we know how that scene ends, still has me on the edge of my seat.
Anyone need help with lottery numbers?
@gustavgraves, your Waltz-prediction as Largo character etc is looking a little dicey about now. :P
Also @gustavgraves. You are doing a lot of re-posting of your comments in different threads. Can't you just post fresh comments ? Most of are reading both threads anyway, so we stumble across your insights just fine, the first time. We don't need them twice.
You are acting like Elliot Carver- trying to max your exposure. ;)
==
Re Obherhauser, again as referenced on the front page of this site, Daily Mail is saying that Eon, at press conference will introduce Waltz as Oberhauser's son to trick us, when all along he will be Blofeld. There may be no mention of Oberhauser in the film at all, other than maybe as a nod to the press conference ruse.
I don't think it's essential to have a personal history behind Blofeld. I think, as the Batman film says, "some people want to see the world burn". Using a recent example, Sherlock and Moriarty in the tv series are great - no personal angle.
However, if Blofeld does return, knowing Mendes there will be some personal angle. I just want a good old standalone entry - sure there can be a battle of the wits and some mind games - but no more "you betrayed me so I'm going to turn evil" etc etc
Now, with "Star Trek" it's a bit easier to bring genetics into the argumentation as what his real name is. But I do hope the reveal of Blofeld in Bond 24 will be done more intelligently.
So there could be one of these options:
SCENARIO A:
Bond is investigating the crash of an airplane in Austria, in which a certain Franz Oberhauser has been killed. Oberhauser, the son of Bond's godfather and ski-instructor, Hans Oberhauser, was working for Austrian intelligence and was investigating a cover-up by following an ex-QUANTUM lead who was also on that airplane. Oberhauser and MI-6 were exchanging this information. Hence Bond's visit to Austria in the PTS. Both MI-6 and Oberhauser were on the brink of discovering something huge, something that could threaten world peace.
Later however, it turns out that Franz Oberhauser's passport is still in use. Someone took over the identity of the dead Oberhauser. And had a personal interest in shooting down the airplane in Austria. That person, played by Waltz, needs his identity to continue the villainous "master plan". Only during the 2nd half of the movie we know who this man really is. And like Silva, this man will be introduced fully later during the movie. The man's real identity in fact is....Ernst Stavro Blofeld. And Christoph Waltz plays him. In this scenario Waltz will have less screen time, and fully appears in the 2nd half of the film.
SCENARIO B:
Waltz is playing Franz Oberhauser from the very start of the movie. Like many of us said already, he starts of as an ally. The relationship between Bond and Oberhauser are their dads, Hans Oberhauser and Andrew Bond. Who both were fanatic skiers.
Bond is investigating a plane crash in Austria, and later he requests the help of his old pal, Franz Oberhauser (A René Mathis-like character, charismatic, witty, and a perfect speaker). Franz is also an intermediary between MI-6 and Austrian intelligence. Both MI-6 and Austrian intelligence were investigating a man aboard that plane, who was linked to QUANTUM. They were about to uncover a big villainous "master plan".
What Bond doesn't know, is that Oberhauser is selling the information (bit like Dryden in CR) to QUANTUM. And during the movie, Franz Oberhauser becomes a high-ranking operative of QUANTUM, which in essence has been changed into S.P.E.C.T.R.E. In the final part of the movie, we find out that Franz Oberhauser is the real villain. A Largo/Kronsteen-combo, played by Christoph Waltz. And that in the end there is a cameo of Blofeld. But this Blofeld is not played by Waltz, but by another actor. In this scenario Waltz will appear almost from the start of the film and will have a lot of screen time.
With both options, I think the writing has been done excellently. There are no plotholes. And the reveal of Blofeld will be done in a much better way than that cheesy reveal of Khan in "Star Trek 12: Into Darkness". I fully trust Sam Mendes/John Logan/Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Jezz Butterworth for that :-).
Above scenario's both incorporate, more or less, two facts that we know so far:
A) Christop Waltz will play a major role in Bond 24, and
B) Blofeld will return in Bond 24.
But I just don't think the exact links of A) and B) have been properly tied together yet by news websites like Daily Mail. And that it's not certain yet if Waltz will actually play Blofeld or not. Hence the fact that I am thinking of above two scenario's.
My question for you guys: Which scenario do you think is the most likely one to become true?
However, that's assuming that DC will not sign in for another and hence Waltz wouldn't.
Is there going to be a cat however? While the novels never featured the white cat, it has become such an iconic part of Blofeld.
Don't forget, Blofeld was in 4 Connery-films and OHMSS, which followed each other closely:
--> FRWL
--> TB
--> YOLT
--> OHMSS
--> DAF
So whatever happens, I think we'll be stuck with Blofeld for Bond 24 and Bond 25 ;-).
Anyway, what do you think of my scenario's? Read my previous post please.
Yes I do hope they bring back the cat. The cat was part of Blofeld's "charm."
There is real potential for Eon, via Mendes, to go off on another character-drama arc of a film. I do hope they can reduce the urge to indugle this tendency.
Its been done to death in the Craig era. Bond being Bond. Bond on mission, is far more exciting and interesting than anything to do with the 007 backstory, such as it is.
Fleming took pains to give us very little by way of back-story.
If I want to revel in back-story, I can re-visit John Pearson's Authorized biography
What I would like though, is a smart reveal of Blofeld at any point in the story really.
Not fussy. Keep any background story of both Bond and Ernst to a mimimum, and give us a good old Bond-on-mission adventure.
@Gustav_Graves: Scenario B I like, but the identity-steal in A is an amateurish blunder if it leads to the man misusing it. And what should that identity be good for? Too contrived, in my opinion.
Have you actually googled "Bond 24 Blofeld"? Good heavens, Bond 24 is truly going viral everywhere.