289 replies to this topic

[Ace Roberts]

My reasoning goes like this  - It has been made clear by someone familiar with the script that when we meet Waltz' character, it is not clear if he is an ally or a villain or a bit of both. If they are spinning it like this and it turns out that he is in fact the film's main villain, wouldn't the casting of Waltz be a terrible idea and give the game away from the outset? So much so, that it would not even be worth them attempting to play it as a plot twist. Why even bother setting up this supposed ambiguity?
 
I could see Waltz as a corrupt opportunist who has involved himself in the villain's plan, a colourful character who is wicked but not outright evil. 
Someone who the audience is not very certain about, even at the end.

My reasoning goes like this  - It has been made clear by someone familiar with the script that when we meet Waltz' character, it is not clear if he is an ally or a villain or a bit of both. If they are spinning it like this and it turns out that he is in fact the film's main villain, wouldn't the casting of Waltz be a terrible idea and give the game away from the outset? So much so, that it would not even be worth them attempting to play it as a plot twist. Why even bother setting up this supposed ambiguity?
 
I could see Waltz as a corrupt opportunist who has involved himself in the villain's plan, a colourful character who is wicked but not outright evil. 
Someone who the audience is not very certain about, even at the end.

[Guy Haines]

I like the idea quoted above which has Waltz playing the psychiatrist who treated Bond as a child after he lost his parents, turning rogue once Bond has become 007.

 

But this "bit of both" description of his character made me wonder - supposing he's playing a schizophrenic character? Or, and this may sound daft but its been done before in the movies, and in the John Gardner novel "Never Send Flowers" - two characters? Good twin and bad twin. As I said, a bit daft but I suppose you can never say never about the Bond films.

[Zen Razor]

I'm absolutely overjoyed with this casting. Now I haven't seen Waltz at work yet but from what I have heard he is a very good actor. Rumors has it he might play Blofeld after they recently won the rights. Now Daniel only has a couple of films left to play I believe this one a one more. So now I wonder if Blofeld shows now who will be Daniel's final villain? I'm certain Waltz will do a outstanding job and by the looks of it this is already looking to be better than Skyfall. One billion at box office for Bond again.

[DaveBond21]

I like the idea quoted above which has Waltz playing the psychiatrist who treated Bond as a child after he lost his parents, turning rogue once Bond has become 007.

 

But this "bit of both" description of his character made me wonder - supposing he's playing a schizophrenic character? Or, and this may sound daft but its been done before in the movies, and in the John Gardner novel "Never Send Flowers" - two characters? Good twin and bad twin. As I said, a bit daft but I suppose you can never say never about the Bond films.

 

Yep, we had two Blofelds in Diamonds are Forever....

[x007AceOfSpades]

Very interesting read about Waltz (should he be playing the villain) and his character's plan. Take with a grain of salt.

 

http://www.enstarz.c...d-guy-video.htm

[Yellow Pinky]

Very interesting read about Waltz (should he be playing the villain) and his character's plan. Take with a grain of salt.

 

http://www.enstarz.c...d-guy-video.htm

There's not a shred of real information anywhere in that story. It all pure speculation with the near constant use of the word "could" to tie all of it together.

[S K Y F A L L]

It is still so unreal they signed him on. He has been suggested countless times here on CBn.

[Dustin]

Most of the speculation is really down to the fact Waltz is not likely to play a minor or largely unimportant role. That said, without knowing any hard facts based on the script it still can be anything from main villain to ally, surviving BOND 24 or dying in the wake of events. Currently the only person outside the production with any kind of valuable information seems to be Bamigboye.

Edited by Dustin, 20 November 2014 - 05:08 PM.

[DaveBond21]

Most of the speculation is really down to the fact Waltz is not likely to play a minor or largely unimportant role. That said, without knowing any hard facts based on the script it still can be anything from main villain to ally, surviving BOND 24 or dying in the wake of events. Currently the only person outside the production with any kind of valuable information seems to be Bamigboye.

Indeed.

 

It reminds me of Topol as Columbo in FYEO. The producers wouldn't have wanted the audience to know if he was playing a bad guy or an ally because part of the plot is having us think he is one when he really is the other.

[seawolfnyy]

 

Most of the speculation is really down to the fact Waltz is not likely to play a minor or largely unimportant role. That said, without knowing any hard facts based on the script it still can be anything from main villain to ally, surviving BOND 24 or dying in the wake of events. Currently the only person outside the production with any kind of valuable information seems to be Bamigboye.

Indeed.

 

It reminds me of Topol as Columbo in FYEO. The producers wouldn't have wanted the audience to know if he was playing a bad guy or an ally because part of the plot is having us think he is one when he really is the other.

 

That's crossed my mind as well. However, given Waltz's talents, I feel having him as a Felix type ally is just a waste.

[SkyfallCraig]

I'd really like him to be a recurring. EON is rebuilding Iconic Bond piece by piece, and we all expect these characters like Q, Moneypenny, M to remain steady even after Craig will finish his Run. So they introduced Tanner, then M and Q and Moneypenny, now it is time for some iconic recurring baddie. Blofeld? Jaws? I'd really like a Moneypenny like twist in Waltz character. Something like the fact that he is an important part of the story, maybe helping MI6 to solve a mistery, and at the end, maybe even after the credits, there is a scene that suggests that he was active bad part in the mistery and that he is Blofeld

[stromberg]

 

Most of the speculation is really down to the fact Waltz is not likely to play a minor or largely unimportant role. That said, without knowing any hard facts based on the script it still can be anything from main villain to ally, surviving BOND 24 or dying in the wake of events. Currently the only person outside the production with any kind of valuable information seems to be Bamigboye.

Indeed.

 

It reminds me of Topol as Columbo in FYEO. The producers wouldn't have wanted the audience to know if he was playing a bad guy or an ally because part of the plot is having us think he is one when he really is the other.

 

Valentin Zukovsky, anyone?

[x007AceOfSpades]

 

Very interesting read about Waltz (should he be playing the villain) and his character's plan. Take with a grain of salt.

 

http://www.enstarz.c...d-guy-video.htm

There's not a shred of real information anywhere in that story. It all pure speculation with the near constant use of the word "could" to tie all of it together.

 

Hence why I wrote "Should he be playing the villain".

 

Everything is speculation, until the real truth is revealed.

[Call Billy Bob]

I've been thinking about this recently, and the possibility of Waltz being a behind the scenes presence (sort of pulling the strings from behind the curtain) keep popping into my head. Sort of what SkyfallCraig said earlier...

 

Perhaps a blend of Blofeld and Professor Moriarty, who appears to be an ally in the beginning?

[Ace Roberts]

An interesting spin, but not likely considering Silva's similar motivation in Skyfall is too recent, would be that Waltz's character is seeking revenge. A far fetched possibility is Waltz is Vesper's father, and he befriends and uses Bond to trace her killing to the fledging Quantum organization. When Bond discovers that Waltz's motivation goes beyond retribution, and is in fact the beginnings of a much larger and dangerous organization, then the tide turns and Bond develops a new nemesis.

[seawolfnyy]

Would anyone mind if Waltz played a rebooted Marc-Ange Draco?

[Cody]

Found this interview with Waltz to be interesting. Nothing about Bond, but some insight into how his mind works.

[Guy Haines]

Blofeld, as described in the novel Thunderball, was an independent operator from the outset, selling to whoever would buy the secrets he had stolen. But for a while he was working for the Allies and was decorated by the British, Americans and French.

 

On that basis a reinvented Blofeld as an "ally" on the surface wouldn't be that far fetched on screen, and would tie in with Fleming source material (very loosely!). A reinvented Blofeld in Bond 24 might initially appear under a different name - possibly we only learn his real name in the last quarter of the movie or even at the end.

 

So we had "Bond Begins" in CR. Might we have "Blofeld Begins" in Bond 24 or a future movie? It was possible to accept a rebooted Bond because audiences already knew the character was on the side of "right" even if his methods weren't always, and it would be interesting to see his early years as a new Double O.

 

The trouble with reintroducing Blofeld is that audiences remember him the first time around as an out and out villain. Would they accept him as an "ally" on the surface who turns into a "nemesis of sorts"?

[rubixcub]

I think the notion of "ally turned nemesis" might be reaching.  If you look back at previous reports, when Ejiofor was being touted, there was no secret being made of the fact that, if cast, he'd be playing the villain.  If he HAD been cast, we wouldn't be having this debate because early reports were pretty cut and dry.

 

The way the contact gave the information suggests that either a) Waltz isn't playing the villain, which would imply an actor of even greater stature is yet to be cast in the main villain part originally earmarked for Ejiofor, or more likely that Waltz is playing the main villain, the same part offered to Ejiofor, and that the attempt to add qualifiers to the information is thin smokescreen.

 

As it's been said earlier, why would they waste a two-time Oscar-winner in a lesser part?

 

Dave

[rubixcub]

As to the nature of the main villain, remember that this villain has a physically imposing henchman (Dave Bautista), so whoever that character hangs around with is the main villain.

 

The fact of a main henchman, and a physically imposing one at that, gives us some clues as to the nature of the villain.  Look at the villains who have had "fighting henchmen" before (i.e. they have a fight scene with Bond):

- Klebb had Grant

- Goldfinger had Oddjob

- Blofeld had Hans, Grunther, and to a lesser extent, Wint & Kidd

- Kananga had Tee Hee

- Scaramanga had Nick Nack (though the fight here was comical and Nick Nack was never meant to be physically imposing)

- Stromberg had Sandor & Jaws

- Drax had Chang & Jaws

- Kamal Khan had Gobinda

- Zorin had May Day

- Whitaker had Necros

- Trevelyan had Onatopp

- Carver had Stamper

- King had Renard (essentially)

 

These villains tend to fall into two types: the kind with a public persona and a public "bodyguard"/manservant type (Goldfinger/Oddjob, Drax/Chang, Khan/Gobinda, Zorin/May Day, Carver/Stamper), or they were outright career criminals, most of whom didn't pretend NOT to be criminals (Klebb, Blofeld, Kananga, Scaramanga, Whitaker, Trevelyan).

 

Also, most of the above engaged Bond in only minimum physical combat (Klebb, Goldfinger, Kananga, Zorin, Carver), and some not at all (two of the Blofelds, Stromberg, Drax, Khan, King).

 

Might create a decent picture of what we might expect from Waltz's villain.  Either he's a public figure with "Hinx" as his bodyguard & doer of his dirty work, or he's a powerful criminal outright.  My guess would lean toward the former, since Waltz excels at playing the untrustworthy charmer.

 

Dave

[Vauxhall]

From Daily Mail (but crucially not Baz):

http://www.dailymail...d-play-him.html

"Waltz’s involvement in the new film – which has the working title ‘Bond 24’ – will be confirmed at a press conference to be held in the first week of December. Eon productions, which owns the James Bond film franchise, will announce the star is playing an unknown character called Franz Oberhauser, son of the late Hans Oberhauser, a ski instructor who acted as a father figure to Bond.

But senior sources believe the casting is a double bluff worthy of 007 himself and that Waltz is actually playing Blofeld. One Hollywood source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Christoph Waltz is playing Blofeld in the next Bond film. The tone of the 007 films has changed significantly in recent years and the producers have changed the character to fit in with the new-look 007.’"

[The Dove]

Damn beaten to it!! Lol.. Nice one, Vauxhall! Press conference coming first week of Dec.. Makes sense..

[tdalton]

Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be the case.  EON needs to look forward with the franchise, not backward.  Why not create their own big bad to face off with "the new-look 007" (as the article puts it) rather than bringing back a villain we've already seen plenty of times.

[The Dove]

I for one would very much welcome a reboot and return of Blofeld.. It's been LONG overdue!

[Matt_13]

My issue with rebooting Blofeld is that I see no significant character traits exclusive to him in the original stories or films that really stand out and necessitate a revival of the character. He's a bad guy, like any other, brought to a certain level of fame arguably for the rarity of being a recurring villain in the Bond franchise. I say forge a modern, three dimensional psychopathic genius. Silva was a rough first step. There's so much more that can be done, though. Oh well, we don't know anything for sure at the moment, and regardless of the name, if Waltz sends a chill down my spine then he will have done his job.

[Vauxhall]

In simple terms... I don't believe it.

But I'm intrigued by the Oberhauser suggestion. That's not an amateur level of trolling; that's a fairly well developed idea.

[Cody]

EON needs to look forward with the franchise, not backward.

 

That's how I feel. I have no interest in seeing a rebooted Blofeld.

 

 

In simple terms... I don't believe it.

But I'm intrigued by the Oberhauser suggestion. That's not an amateur level of trolling; that's a fairly well developed idea.

 

The Oberhauser bit is what makes me think (and worry) that there might be truth to it, I don't think the average tabloid writer would just happen to know of a character referenced in the Octopussy short story.

 

Oberhauser or his son being in there, fine. Oberhauser as Blofeld, no thank you.

 

And when the names Hans and Franz are paired, I can only think of these guys.

[S K Y F A L L]

Big news. Press conference 1st week of December and they leave us with Waltz playing Blofeld to give us something to think about till then. Cool.

[Guy Haines]

It would take a certain amount of digging on the part of tabloid "hacks" to come up with the name Hannes Oberhauser, digging that I can't imagine your typical hack would do, (I.e getting hold of a copy of the book "Octopussy and The Living Daylights and actually reading it!) so I think there may be some substance to the suggestion in the Daily Mail report above rather than the usual red top made up stuff.

 

"Franz Oberhauser"?  Is that a bit of misdirection on the part of the producers - anyone remember the early reports about "Star Trek:Into Darkness" when a cast member let slip that Benedict Cumberbatch would be playing "Gary Mitchell" a good turned bad character from an early Trek TV episode? If you saw the film you know he instead played an "iconic" villain from the past, Khan, but in a different way. One wonders if that's what's being tried with Bond 24? Or will Franz figure in the film and turn out to be Blofeld, using the Oberhauser name as a cover and a lure for Bond?

 

Either way - I mentioned Oberhauser on another thread as a possible character in 24 because of the Austrian setting weeks ago, and I've been wondering if Blofeld might return for months. Was I on to something? We'll soon find out.

[007jamesbond]

Big news. Press conference 1st week of December and they leave us with Waltz playing Blofeld to give us something to think about till then. Cool.

 yep I doubt we will get confirmation who Waltz is playing......we probably get the title, a short plot synosis, maybe character names, location.......it likely secret like SF