As any actor who’s played the face of the James Bond movies will tell you, the cinematic legacy of Ian Fleming’s literary creation will follow you everywhere you let it. Pierce Brosnan knows that fact, with his previous remarks on 007’s future seemed to indicate he wasn’t exactly concerned with the matter.
Now he’s walked back those comments in a pretty big way and thrown his support behind an Oppenheimer star to play the seventh Commander Bond. The Thomas Crown Affair actor spoke to the BBC during this year’s Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles, and when asked about who he’d want to see as the next James Bond, 2024 Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy’s name came up. Giving his fellow countryman a ringing endorsement, Pierce Brosnan offered this comment when asked:
Cillian would do a magnificent job as James Bond on His Majesty's Secret Service.
Murphy’s past James Bond odds have seen the actor in hot competition with other frequent 00-favorites like Henry Cavill, Idris Elba and Regé-Jean Page. That’s even despite the fact that recent James Bond rumors have specified that the next Bond is more than likely going to be someone in their mid-30s.
As the franchise has already secured Warner Bros. as a future international distribution partner, that sort of move seems like good business sense. That being said, you can bet that Pierce Brosnan's support will give Cillian Murphy’s odds some sort of bump. This is, after all, one of those franchises where a fan's feelings towards who plays the lead can run quite hot.
The fans could also set the tone for Bond 26 in terms of how serious or campy this next era happens to be. After a super serious and serialized run of adventures made up Daniel Craig’s 007 run, and with an irregular interval of time in-between entries, there are two things James Bond fans seem to want present in the franchise. Not only do they want a more regular release schedule for James Bond movies, but some are also hoping that lighter, Roger Moore-style shenanigans might be in the offing.
It's still unclear whether that will be the direction of the 007 future, but no matter where things go, Cillian Murphy's name will definitely keep making the rounds when trying to decide which direction to go. Or, much like in Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond movies, Mr. Murphy's hypothetical adventures could walk the line between both of those tones without getting shaken or stirred.
Of course, if Oscars night is particularly kind to Cillian, that could affect his odds as well. We'll just have to wait and see what happens at the 96th Academy Awards, which will air this Sunday at 7 PM ET on ABC. Also, those who want to celebrate Mr. Brosnan’s time in the tuxedo can do so through streaming, thanks to The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day still being available to Max subscription holders.
