Ways to Celebrate James Bond Day When the Next 007 Remains a Mystery?

It's James Bond Day, in case you missed it – 5 October now stands as a global celebration dedicated to all things 007, thanks to it marking the date of the global debut of Dr No, starring Sean Connery, back in 1962. Consider it as a bit like May the 4th, minus the Wookiees and Ewoks and much more tuxedoed swagger.

A Low-Key Observance This Year

This year however, the arrival of the 007 celebration is a bit underwhelming. It hasn't been since the acclaimed director was revealed as the director the upcoming 007 movie in June, and shortly after since writer Steven Knight was enlisted to pen the screenplay. Yet there has been almost no indication from that point of the new 007 being officially announced, and even less sense concerning the path this long-running series is going next. All we have are unconfirmed reports via the Hollywood trades indicating that the producers will be looking for a relatively youthful UK performer, possibly non-white but is not going to be a female actor, a franchise star, or somebody slightly known.

Disappointment for Oddsmakers

This is, of course a setback for the numerous internet betting sites which have generating substantial revenue over recent months through efforts to suggest bettors that it is a race between a shortlist of actors plus the charismatic star in Saltburn with Australian origins.

Going Back to Unfamiliar Faces

Interestingly, the previous instance the 007 series opted for a total unknown took place in 1969, when George Lazenby briefly took up the famous firearm. Earlier, Sean Connery was not famous: he performed some small movie parts along with some theater and modeling jobs as well as working in physique competitions and dairy delivery in Scotland before landing the starring part in the debut movie. The film's producers specifically didn’t want an established star; they desired a new face that viewers would believe as the real 007, as opposed to an actor playing Bond.

Employing this strategy again might prove to be a clever decision, exactly as it was in the early 1960s.

The Villeneuve Factor

Yet hiring Villeneuve on board suggests that there is no get-out clause whatsoever should the next 007 turns out to be wooden. Amplifying the ridiculous devices and suggestive humor is off the table under the guidance of is a solemn auteur specializing in cinematic genres renowned for thoughtful science fiction in which the most intense element is the audience’s own existential dread.

A bruiser in a dinner jacket … Daniel Craig in 2006’s Casino Royale.

Fresh Approach for the Franchise

However, in numerous aspects, hiring Villeneuve tells us everything we need to know concerning the fresh era after Daniel Craig. We won't see vehicles that disappear or sexual innuendos, and the return of the comic sheriff again shortly. This entire situation is, of course, quite alright if you like your 007 with a modern twist. Yet it fails to indicate how Villeneuve’s take regarding the stylish official killer will be unique from the 007s from the recent past particularly should the new era doesn’t choose to place the plot in the initial decades.

Transforming Each Era

Craig was immediately recognisable as a new kind of stylish operative upon his debut in the role in the 2006 film, an aggressive figure in black tie who would avoid at all costs in a stealth vehicle, or using sexual wordplay with co-stars during bomb disposal. He caused the previous Bond's polished style which recently was viewed by many as the best Bond since Connery, appear as a copycat version badly reheated. Not that this is anything new. After Connery came Lazenby, Brosnan followed the underappreciated Dalton, and cheesy late-era Roger Moore came after the intense early Moore. Each Bond period alters the prior, but each one is distinctively the iconic spy, deserving of a toast. It feels odd, while we mark this year’s Bond Day, that we are being invited to toast one who remains unidentified.