I think Waltz wasn’t terribly in love with his own part in SPECTRE. The impression I got from him was that he’d only return if the script improved considerably on what we’ve seen of his Blofeld. And it’s entirely possible Eon won’t even include Blofeld in BOND 25.
This, for me, is one of the most exciting questions about BOND 25. Will it feature Blofeld - and will Waltz return?
If Blofeld is again the main villain Waltz´ absence would be a major blow to the continuity they desperately tried to achieve.
But I do also believe that Waltz would return for the money and the prestige it would add to his status which has diminished during the recent years.
Waltz’ Blofeld was damaged by the backstory - but there also wasn’t a lot of substance in the rest of the script. His appearance was a letdown and he admits it himself. In comparison with Bardem’s performance Waltz must feel his Blofeld was a missed chance. The question is, will a BOND 25 script deliver a better part for him?
Another route they could go is have Blofeld in it but not be the main villain. That’s how he was in the Connery days - he would be the guy pulling the strings but somebody like Largo was the main baddie. In a way that’s how they’ve been doing it in the Craig films, just in a revisionist way…
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If Blofeld is only pulling the strings but is not seen it will also be a major letdown for me.
I want a real conflict betwenn Craig and Blofeld, and IMO anything else would not fit with the tenure as it was laid out before. If Blofeld was responsible for everything that happened to CraigBond, he needs to be the one Craig has to confront. Just letting him be captured by the police and stepping away from him is too easy to finish off that arc.
And if BOND 25 manages to craft a satisfying finale, maybe, maybe SPECTRE can be seen as just one part of a bigger narrative, more of an exposition for the real meaty closing installment.
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Blofeld in the background in BOND 25 would be even worse than SPECTRE. That stunt would only work if Blofeld had been killed by Bond and you could reveal at the end it’s him again. You’d still need a powerful main villain and really, how would that come across after Blofeld was already a weak antagonist the film before?
If Blofeld has got a part at all in BOND 25 it’s got to be front and centre. And they will either have to call back Waltz for it or the entire consistency of Craig’s run falls apart.
If it’s a thinly veiled Trump stand in then no. That will date the film faster than Connery’s wardrobe in Diamonds Are Forever.
Cubby Broccoli had rejected an early script of The Spy Who Loved Me which featured a Watergate inspired scene where the US President is forced to strip nude and confess his crimes. Cubby was right to nix such a scene as the Bond films have generally been apolitical. When foreign governments are involved its usually a rogue military leader, like General Orlov or Colonel Moon.
An American villain is perfectly fine, we did have David Harbour as Greg Beam in Quantum of Solace who, while not a flat out villain, was certainly shady and double dealing. Would be fun to see him return since Habour’s profile has risen considerably since 2008 with Stranger Things and the new Hellboy movie.
I’m still in favor of the Spang Brothers myself but would be open to pretty much anything except a heavy handed Trump clone.
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Wot an idea! If Beam were already on the Quantum/SPECTRE payroll, it would go a long way towards explaining why he was so ineffectual as a CIA section chief. He’ a previously established character, so he’d just have to keep on doing what he was doing. All those middle-aged, middle-class white males would never recognize their elected leader as anything less than a demi-god anyway, so we could all cheer when Bond finally kicks the ever-loving living crap out of the obnoxious a**clown until there’s nothing left but his bad hair and his made-in-China shoes.
Bring on David Harbour! Can we start a petition?
Beam despite being removed as section chief of the CIA’s South American Branch he could have slithered his way into another position in another country say like Japan? Remember that the 9 Eyes meeting was in Tokyo. So there’s already some dots that could be connected. It would also be a way to bring Felix back into the mix with his previous relationship with Beam.
If they can work in Guy Haines and the money from Casino Royale that would tie up a lot of loose ends in the Craig era.
That had to have been in Anthony Burgess’s rightly rejected screenplay.
All of us cheer? No, just those suffering from Trump derangement syndrome. Assuming of course they can find their way out of the safe-space of their parents’ basements, afford the cost of a movie ticket, and not feel triggered because their local movie theater chain still has binary-gendered washrooms and doesn’t serve lattes & tofu. 
Yes, I know, no political discussions. Sorry, couldn’t resist!
Ed Harris would be a fab choice. I think the whole idea of a high level political bod works for me. Not a obvious Trump character but someone who can call on their own security services to take on Bond. Perhaps painting him as the villain till he proves otherwise. 007 public enemy no 1 for a time
I have prepared a modest 3-page treatment for a story based on the premise of Greg Beam rising to power and becoming a threat to the world, but I’m not sure whether I should share it here. I don’t care about annoying the alt-right yahoos, but I don’t want to run afoul of the mods and the purpose of these fora, so I will wait and see what kind of response I receive.
As it’s your own work AMC, feel free to. Maybe in the “Creations” section as it just that. Granted we’ve made our wishes and posted our dreams here and there throughout, but that’s my thought and if you should, just post a link in here.
Also, this is CBn. We never “run afoul”… We stroll amok as if carrying a perfectly chilled glass of Bollinger RD at all times.
Done. It is the first entry in the new “Bond 25 Scenarios” thread, but I don’t know how to post links. If it ends up blocked, I’ll know better next time.
Or maligning millions of Trump voters with an increasingly meaningless term. Might make me think you’re trolling. BTW, there’s no shortage of stereotypes about white liberal academics. May want to keep that in mind.
https://conservativetribune.com/professor-tweets-white-suicide/
As our mod Dustin has said before, there are plenty of political discussion boards to discuss politics and politicians. I’m sure there must be a couple of political boards where you can vent about Trump all you like.
Dustin Posted 08 February 2015 - 05:34 PM: “We’ve made pretty good experiences here with people keeping their politics their own business. Would be nice if you could, too.”
Trump incites strong reactions - both pro and con. The trick with these threads is to keep an even keel. Everybody did that until your first post.
So please no snarky comments. Save your aggression for the guy who invented “kick a ginger” day.
Don’t worry. When the mods have said in past no political discussions, they were only kidding. [sarcasm alert!]
Only if we hashtag it #Imwithhim. With any luck it will have more success than the change.org attempt to influence the electoral college.
An American villain? It seems to be all the vogue these days to rip on the yanks. Myself, I feel George would be the iconoclast modern villain. George Soros, that is.
We´re not kidding.
Exactly my point!
When they not continue with the Blofeld story and also not with Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann,
than I think even worse about the Spectre movie, because to end a story like that with finaly Blofeld back is a waste!
I’d love Blofeld back, but not as the main villain… just yet. Let’s have a few films with him as a shadowy presence in the background. Build him up as the threat he always should have been. Bond thought he’d dealt with him, but he’s back and stronger than ever. Of course, this approach would require a long term plan, which Eon seem to be reluctant to commit to. It would also benefit from a return to the 2 year film cycle so the audience can keep up. Quite honestly, 4 or even 5 years past Spectre I bet the vast majority will have long forgotten any loose threads, which in my book is a real shame.