James Bond will not return on the 2025 movie schedule, and I’m sure some of us are still dealing with that news in our own way. Personally. I’m still trying to pick which 00-grievance to focus on at the moment, as I have a choice between the delays for both James Bond 26 and the upcoming video game Project 007 - which was just announced as going to the Nintendo Switch 2.
Amazon-MGM Studios Has Announced That Bond 26 Is ‘Getting Started’
However, I think Amazon-MGM Studios may have made my mind up for me. That’s thanks to Courtenay Valenti and Sue Kroll, executives firmly entrenched in the process and present for last night’s CinemaCon presentation. The keys have officially been turned in the Aston Martin that now drives the James Bond movies, and this statement is how they commemorated that fact:
We are committed to honoring the legacy of this iconic character while bringing a fresh, exotic new chapter to audiences around the world alongside Amy [Pascal] and David [Heyman]. They’re both in London getting started and couldn’t be here tonight, but we wanted to thank them for what we know to make an incredible partnership.
Pascal & Heyman’s recent hiring as the new 00-producers was the first promising step we’ve seen in the march to Bond 26. Prompted by EON Productions’ producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson stepping down from the family business, the turmoil surrounding the post-Daniel Craig future appeared to subside.
And now that Valenti and Kroll have announced the gears are finally turning on bringing Ian Fleming’s mythic creation back to the world, I think the choice of words to announce the action are more loaded than we thought.
Bond 26’s ‘Fresh, Exotic New Chapter’ Could Hint At Our First Non-White 007
Now what I’m about to discuss is far from confirmed, as we are literally just getting started. However, I think the key terms “fresh” and “exotic” may be a signal that redefining 007 will be taking a step we’ve been talking about for some time: casting a non-white Commander Bond.
In an era where David Oyelowo has voiced Bond in the audiobook for Trigger Mortis, and we all still mourn the failure to cast Idris Elba in the famed tuxedo, it feels like the time to redefine James Bond with a huge departure. Obviously I’m not talking about the oft-discussed “female James Bond” concept, as seen through comments from Gemma Arterton, a 007 vet herself, admitting the concept is kind of weak.
However, as we’ve seen casting odds boosting actors like Paapa Essiedu, the new Severus Snape for Max’s Harry Potter series, Crazy Rich Asians heartthrob Henry Golding, and of course previous front runner Regé-Jean Page, it’s not like there’s a lack of options.
I’ll admit that deciphering the word “exotic” as “non-white” is something that still kind of troubles me. But that does feel like a light business speak way of opening the door to a non-traditional James Bond. Should that be the case, I’ll be even more excited for Bond 26, because a more diverse pool of actors will allow us to avoid missed opportunities like Colin Salmon’s James Bond.
For now, the next 007 era is loading its weapons, and preparing to shoot the gunbarrel in the near future. If those rumored Amazon-MGM Studios 007 plans are accurate, 2027 might be when we see this all pay off. So the studio wins this round, and now my attention is firmly focused on IOI Interactive and their failure to debut any new Project 007 footage or details. And we all know that when it comes to the James Bond fandom, this organization does not tolerate failure.
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