No Time to Die **Spoilers from post #1449 onward**

Same age currently as Connery was for Dr No, so I don't see his youth as a problem. And it looks like filming won't start until 2024 so even less of an issue.

Also I think with the time between films seemingly on the increase, it's probably an advantage to go with someone 30-35 years old. That way you can get 4/5 films without getting into silly territory.

On Idris Elba (mentioned by 'fryup' above) I think the window for him as Bond is gone. Might be a good M or Bill Tanner though.

yeah, I enjoyed that film and it seemed like a Bond audition for Cavill (I believe he did actually audition when DC got the role too).

But I wonder if Cavill is too well known - Eon like casting cheap low-profile actors, not existing movie stars. That's why I think there's no way it will be Tom Hardy, or some of the other big names being tossed around.

not at all, sure Roger Moore was an old age pensioner with a bus pass when he was doing it

that's not a good thing, Moore looked way too old in his last few films, and Craig was looking very old in NTTD as well.

Moore also knocked out 7 movies in 12 years, whereas they're producing them at a much slower rate now, younger man required.

Moore had 3 under his belt by Idris's current age - though in fairness I think it was only by Octopussy and AVTAK that he was clearly too old.

Brosnan had his four done by aged 50, and Dalton his two by 44.

Apart from the actor, the tone of the new movies is just as important. Apart from the legal issues that delayed and ultimately scuppered Dalton’s third movie, audiences at the time did not really take to Licence to Kill and its more serious take on Bond. Before Brosnan arrived, it was more or less assumed the Bond series was over, along with the Cold War which was the backdrop to many of the movies. It was only when Craig’s era arrived that LTK was re-evaluated as a movie ahead of its time.

Goldeneye was seen at the time as a risky attempt to restart the character for a post Cold War generation. The return to a lighter tone was welcomed by audiences. The next movie/actor will have as much riding on their shoulders to show Bond is still a relevant character for modern audiences.

I think Spectre and NTTD are proof that serious doesn't always equal good, both went for a very serious tone however their plots were completely ridiculous and fall apart at the smallest bit of examination. I think grounded would be a much better word for the the reason behind CR's success, there was no over the top plot to take over the world, he was just trying to weaken the position of someone who could be turned into an informant. The stakes were low and the personal arc with a subplot. Later Craig era films, raised the stakes significantly and tried to incorporate the Bond's personal journey directly into the plot.

Haven't seen Goldeneye in years but whilst it's serious, it has its tongue very firmly in its cheeks that was similar to Connery. I liked Craig in the early films but his Bond became far too earnest and I still think turning Bond into a family man was a bigger mistake than killing him.

Go back to having cool gadgets like Roger Moore used to get to play with.

My vote would be for Henry Cavill.

Apart from Brosnan’s invisible car, the most outlandish gadgets were perhaps Roger Moore’s laser/magnet watches. The exotic vehicles were usually real (mini helicopters/planes etc). The rest were espionage items like suitcases with hidden weapons etc. The Bond car weapons were far fetched but just about believable.

NTTD’s villain with the bionic eye was a ‘jump the shark’ moment for me. Also, the magical Spectre mist that protects Bond while everyone else in the room gets poisoned. How did Blofeld know he’d get Bond to stand in that exact spot long enough to stay alive?. How did the poison air not just drift into the magic mist? …… oh I give up !! It’s more like something you’d see in Austin Powers.

Maybe so, then why did he need the mist to stay alive?

He didn't. It's the other way around - the mist was the nanobot bioweapon that was meant to kill Bond, but had been reversed by Safin to kill all the Spectre guys instead.

Sam Heughan (not sure if the spelling - the lucky backstard what gets to to be with Catriona Balfe in Outlander) would be a good Bond but he is in his forties now.

I think they should go with an actor in his twenties and tell a story of how and why he he was recruited.