The name is 25. James Bond 25.
It comes out February 14, 2020, but really, they haven’t released a title yet. Or the villain. Much like the man himself, the new James Bond film remains shrouded in mystery, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. James Bond films are nothing if not bastions of tradition, so there’s tons to look forward, too: cool cars, exotic locales, and new single released by a hot musician. Just because there’s a lot tradition to fulfill doesn’t mean we can’t have a fresh new story, though.
Ironically, reliance on tradition almost stifled the last film, Spectre. Trying to shoehorn Blofeld in and weld together all the other Daniel Craig films under the banner of SPECTRE just didn’t feel natural. Why do all the terrorists in the world need to work together? How can Bond just forget his homeboy like that? Is he suffering brain damage from all the explosions and parkour wipeouts? Plus, Spectre ended with Bond driving off into the sunset, so I was pretty surprised to hear he’d be coming back.
Daniel Craig has been my favorite James Bond, and 25 is rumored to be his last, but then, people have been saying that since Quantum of Solace. The Craig Bond has cared less about romancing the ladies than he has about saving the world, in contrast all his predecessors, and the modern special effects make the old films look, well, goofy. While I don’t need 25 to go darker and grittier, I am crossing my fingers that the recent Blofeld remission will not accompany a backslide into plotlines where they try to take over the moon.
The film does feature a new director, Cary Fukunaga, as the first Asian-American director to helm a James Bond film, which will delight fans of the 2017 It. We assume that Ralph Fiennes will return as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, and Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny – the traditional cast. When a new James Bond film hits theaters, fans look forward to the unexpected as much the things that we know are coming back. Whoever the villain is, here’s hoping he’s as original as Raoul Silva, scary as Le Chiffre, and long-lived as Jaws.
Photo source: 007.com
