Cinema
The requirements of the new James Bond 007: no origin stories or guys in their early twenties
The producer of the James Bond films says they are looking for an actor in his thirties because the character needs experience. Sorry, Tom Holland.
During these days of celebration for James Bond's 60th anniversary, Deadline has spoken with one of the main producers of the saga, Michael G. Wilson, and has revealed from their conversation some details about the identity of the new 007. Or more than about the identity, about the requirements that candidates must meet to take over from Daniel Craig. Wilson makes it clear, no youngsters or stories about the origins of the character.
"We’ve tried looking at younger people in the past. But trying to visualize it doesn’t work. Remember, Bond’s already a veteran. He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something," the producer explains. He isn’t some kid out of high school that you can bring in and start off. That’s why it works for a thirty-something."
Farewell to the Tom Holland option
Michael G. Wilson's words remind us of those of Tom Holland, the 26-year-old Uncharted and Spider-Man actor, who tried to sell himself to Sony Pictures as Craig's successor. Holland confessed in an interview for the Los Angeles Times that he wanted to do just that, to tell the origins of 007 with a story in which it was not revealed until the end that his character was the new James Bond.
It was supposed to be about a young man who had just graduated from the SAS (the British special military force) and was going on a mission, a mission that would obviously be full of adventures and it would be very exciting,” Holland himself recounted. “At the end of the movie, the character would be recruited by MI6 and given double zero status and the title of James Bond. I think it was a really cool idea, but I guess no one else thought that way.
Luckily for Holland, the idea of doing a Bond movie as a young man ended up resulting in the same thing being done with Nathan Drake, and hence Sony offered him the role, so every cloud has a silver lining. For now, the 007 issue seems complicated, as the production company is looking for a commitment for 10 years and old interpreters of the spy as Pierce Brosnan have spoken with disdain about the choice. We must be patient to see the agent on screen again.
Source | AV Club