Why James Bond 26 Can’t Be Another Origin Story
While Daniel Craig’s James Bond franchise debut was able to tell a compelling origin story for 007, the upcoming sequel Bond 26 can’t repeat this approach for numerous reasons. Now that No Time To Die marked the end of Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond, the search for the next 007 is on in earnest. The lucky actor has not yet been named, although both Tom Hardy and Rege-Jean Page have been bookmaker’s favorites for some months now.
However, regardless of who ends up getting the coveted part, Bond 26 will need to do more than merely recast James Bond. Although Craig’s later additions to the franchise featured a more playful, over-the-top tone than his first James Bond movies, as a whole, the actor’s time as 007 was defined by a marked tonal shift for the series. The Bond franchise became a lot more mature, grounded, and gritty during Craig’s years playing 007, and this change now needs to be undone by the spy's next cinematic adventure.
Related: No Time To Die Proves Amazon's Mr & Mrs. Smith Could Have Been Great
Craig was not the first actor to offer a more self-serious reinvention of Bond, with both Timothy Dalton’s 007 movies and the infamously tragic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service allowing the suave super-spy to show his sensitive side. However, Craig’s James Bond was the first version of the character who (mostly) dropped the quips, gadgets, and goofy villains in favor of relatively realistic espionage action. This was never more pronounced than in his brutal debut Casino Royale, a poignant, violent introduction to the character that also served as James Bond’s origin story. However, while that 2006 hit was deservedly acclaimed for its daring reinvention of Bond, the blockbuster cinema landscape has changed in the
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