“Stop getting Bond wrong!” Amazon’s recently announced takeover of the James Bond franchise seems likely to provoke fans into doing their best Alan Partridge impression.
Concerns are certainly valid. Previous custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson lived and breathed the series; Jeff Bezos sourced suggestions for the next Bond on social media. With his bald head, extreme wealth and vaguely megalomaniacal vibe, Bezos has often been compared to a Bond villain in the past. Now he threatens to destroy the character completely.
Yet there is also the opportunity for reinvigoration. It’s been more than 12 years since Skyfall, the last Bond film to be considered an unmitigated success. Daniel Craig’s tenure attempted to deconstruct the character with increasingly mixed results. His swansong No Time To Die made the controversial move of saddling Bond with a child and then killing him off. A fresh start is needed in every sense.
Being the supportive types, we’ve created a checklist for the lucky soul / poor sod tasked with overseeing the series. An eight-point plan guaranteed to bring critical and commercial success. (We will not be held accountable if it doesn't.) Exploding pens at the ready. Here goes.
Cast a (relative) unknown
When Jeff Bezos asked social media for its preferred James Bond, the runway winner was Henry Cavill. No doubt Cavill would make a fine Bond. His Napoleon Solo in the underrated thriller The Man From U.N.C.L.E showcased his superb spy credentials. But he’s already played one cultural icon in Superman. He would not be James Bond – he would be Henry Cavill playing James Bond. Same with Tom Hardy, Idris Elba or any major star. All previous Bond actors had relatively modest profiles before taking the role. You want audiences to see the character, not the famous actor playing them.
Follow the established blueprint
Every previous James Bond has been a 6ft+ white heterosexual male because that’s the James Bond described by Ian Fleming. (OK, Daniel Craig was 5’11.) Opinions vary as to which, if any, of these characteristics can be discarded while still staying true to the character. Whatever yours, it would seem prudent for Amazon to stick to the established physical blueprint when launching their first iteration of James Bond. It will be work enough convincing a sceptical fanbase; radical reinvention of a character whose popularity has endured for 75 years isn’t the place to start.
Don’t copy Daniel Craig
A new Bond has a taxing remit: give us the same but different. He must be handsome. He must be cruel. He must have sexual charisma. He must be the suavest man in any room and also the most dangerous. Past Bonds tended to lean into different traits than their predecessor; nobody would confuse Roger Moore with Timothy Dalton. Following the established blueprint for the character still leaves a breadth of options, and we don’t need another Daniel Craig. There were rumours of Josh O'Connor, an unconventional casting but a potentially inspired one. (He’s also a dead ringer for Hoagy Carmichael, the American singer whom Fleming’s Bond supposedly resembles.)
The right writer (s)
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have written the past seven James Bond films, starting their run the previous millennium with The World Is Not Enough. Seven films most certainly is enough; it’s time for fresh fingers at the keyboard. But whose? The ideal candidate(s) will be seeped in Bond lore, respectful of its heritage yet with the talent and ideas to forge their own path. Anthony Horowitz has written three widely acclaimed Bond novels – plus an entire teen Bond series in Alex Rider – and would surely stay true to Fleming’s creation. Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat supposedly dreamed up a Bond film over dinner while working on that other British icon, Sherlock Holmes. Whoever gets the job, first and foremost they must be a fan.
Clarity of plot
A major failing of the Craig era. I’ve watched his films multiple times yet I could only confidently explain the plot of the first – and even Casino Royale has that frenetic Venice climax where it turns into Quantum of Solace. Spectre’s plot vanished halfway through; No Time To Die involved magic nanobots that killed people when Bond touched them. (Or something.) Whether the stakes are preventing nuclear armageddon or winning a card game, a Bond film should be easy to follow. Essentially: the villain has a plan and Bond must stop it. Which brings us to…
A strong villain
The notion a Bond film is only as good as its villain isn’t quite true: Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga graced the otherwise weak The Man with the Golden Gun, and The Spy Who Loved Me is a beloved classic saddled with a dull megalomaniac in Karl Stromberg. Nevertheless, the villain is often the most memorable character and Amazon could really do with debuting a good one. Here again is an obvious chance to improve on Craig: several of his films had lousy antagonists, especially the final two. Create a great villain and cast a great actor to portray them – Idris Elba would be an interesting choice.
No serialisation
Quantum of Solace was the first Bond film to be a direct sequel to its predecessor. It is also widely regarded as one of the worst. Every Bond film must exist as its own entity. Past events can be mentioned, characters recur, an evil organisation lurks continuously in the shadows, but absolutely no homework should be required. SPECTRE appeared multiple times across the Sean Connery era but each story was self-contained and would work as an introduction to the series. Witness the underperformance of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning after bolting a ‘Part One’ to its title.
Limited spinoffs
Best live in the real world here: the Amazon purchase has made spinoffs all but inevitable. Be prepared to discover the secret life of Moneypenny and how Jaws got his metal teeth. Nobody wants them and they’ll dilute the brand but whatever, an extended James Bond universe will soon be inflicted on the world. Hopefully, Amazon takes heed from Disney’s frequently disastrous Star Wars misadventures and realises that anticipation is invariably better than saturation.
