Interesting idea; “so blinded by inconsolable rage” (again) James Bond engineers a situation intended to destroy two factions but actually risks developing into a war i.e. he’s to blame, he’s the “villain” and new 007 has to put him down. The heroes and villains get all mixed up.
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Images from the Empire Magazine 2020 preview (posted by a subscriber on the other place), a couple of new quotes from Barbara/MGW on getting Craig back.
Moderator’s note: attched images removed
Certainly well intended, but we can’t have that. It’s copyrighted material, sorry…
Ah I see!
Anyway gist of the new quotes:
- Barbara basically saying she wouldn’t accept any other option than Craig returning for NTTD
- MGW saying NTTD looks to be the definitive end of the Craig era
- Barbara liking Craig’s Bond to be put through the ringer emotionally/personally in his missions.
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So, BB and MGW contradict each other? Or BB got Craig back because she did not accept any other option?
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BB was talking about Craig returning for NTTD after Spectre.
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She’s talking about getting Craig back after SPECTRE. Seems like NTTD ends in a way that closes the door on the Craig era. Craig agreed there was unfinished business, and decided to return.
I don’t think it does, I got the impression that it’s an ending if you want it to be, but doesn’t close the door.
Personally admiring both MGW and BB’s ability to answer a direct question that doesn’t answer either way.
Bb talks about him returning specifically for NTTD, whilst MGW uses phrases like looks to be, the sort of phrases that sound like answers, but are actually saying nothing.
I havn’t seen a producer that good at evasion since…well, Cubby.
I’m certain Craig won’t do more, but clearly Eon don’t want to be that firm in case any future financial backer specifies they want Craig.
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He’ll be 55 by the time Bond 26 comes out. I’m positive NTTD is his last one.
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I hope so. Otherwise the next one will be at least four or five years away and the new era won’t start before 2030.
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Of course they could be avoiding stating it because that tabloid story is true and they’ve filmed 3 different endings with only CJF knowing which is going to be used…
…though why CJF would be choosing them is beyond me, given he’s the only one who definitely isn’t going to be dealing with the consequences of said ending.
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It sounds like yet another ‘Ooooo, Bond might DIE!!!..!!!..!!!’ designed to generate buzz.
My money, however is that it’s all fur coat, no knickers. He’ll be MIA at most, a la the end of YOLT novel.
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Probably.
An open end that allows for any interpretation we choose, retirement or back-to-duty or going into showbusiness.
And the next one starts in the middle of an assignment and it’s once more open to debate whether he’s meant to be the previous incarnation or reaching further back into his ancestry.
Eon rebooted Bond so often that the only overt attempt so far posed more problems than it solved - especially when it was thrown overboard halfway into Craig’s tenure. I suppose a return of the tried and tested ‘who-cares’ approach would be the best way to offer a newcomer in the role.
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I think they may try to pull off their own version of the ending from the novel From Russia with Love. That’s dramatic and ambiguous enough to end a tenure.
A clever way would be to have Bond struggling for breath, and to end the film like Inception leaving his mortality up for interpretation.
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Yeah, it does seem like the end of the road.
I’m torn between an ending like Fleming’s FRWL, or something like the end of Octopussy - which would’ve been the perfect ending for Moore.
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Taking it nicely full circle back to Mathis advice to the novice 00.
Unless they adapt the Pearson biography, in which case his age is fine.
They could then have fun casting the younger Bond at various ages; the late 20s/early 30s version could then take the mantle in bond 26 if he’s received well (giving Eon an unprecedented chance to test drive their choice).
The interweb ca. 1981: "He’ll be 55 by the time Bond 13 comes out. I’m positive FYEO is Roger’s last one."
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I’m absolutely against the “Bond may die”-ending.
For Fleming´s FRWL it made sense - a cliffhanger to ensure that the audience would be interested in a next installment.
Now, with the movies a “never ending story”, Bond´s death has no narrative weight at all. We all know that the movies will continue, with or without Craig. So the intended shock is just a “so what?” And for a Bond movie it is also an unnecessary downer.
Yes, OHMSS dared to go out on Tracy´s death (ooh, spoiler alert, sorry). But that, um, did not really work so much with audiences, did it?
No, for Craig´s last scene as Bond it would be much more satisfying to have him quit the service for good and ride of into the sunset with Madeleine. Or if they want to do the YOLT ending once and for all, have him wake up without his memory, leading a new simple life.