13 replies to this topic

[rubixcub]

High-profile and Oscar-nominated / Oscar-winning actors are becoming franchise villains du jour.  Bond villains are almost always played European actors, to boot.  Some possibilities:

 

- Benicio Del Toro (an Oscar-winner getting Oscar buzz for his role in the upcoming "Sicario"; would be cool to have him back as the main villain)

- Idris Elba (will be too old to play Bond but could play a villain; currently Oscar buzzed as a warlord in the upcoming "Beasts of No Nation")

- Daniel Bruhl (he's the right age and the kind of up-and-coming European actor they've cast frequently; I'm almost sure his name will come up)

- Matthias Schoenaerts (very visible right now, awards-worthy roles will come soon, and his star is rising)

- Jean Dujardin (he's fallen off the radar a bit, but could resurface in the conversation sooner rather than later)

- Eddie Redmayne (not till he's in his 40s; could score back-to-back Oscars for playing the first transgendered woman under the direction of Tom Hooper.  If Hooper ever directs Bond...)

- Chiwetel Ejiofor (was close to being cast as the villain in SP, according to the media, though it was later revealed to be Andrew Scott's role)

 

Who do you are likely possibilities to play future villains?

 

Dave

[stromberg]

Benicio del Toro already was a Bond villain. Okay, he was only a henchman, but a particularly nasty one, who gave Della Leiter a "nice honeymooon".

 

Daniel Brühl: still to young, and he's even younger looking than his current 36. Needs at least ten more years. I was impressed with his work in "Rush". When I first heard he'd play Nikki Lauda in that movie, I thought he's horribly miscast. He proved me wrong very much.

 

But if you're looking for good European (German) actors with little international reputation, I'd suggest Axel Milberg or Ulrich Tukur. Both could easily pass as Goldfinger 2.0 from their looks, and both are terrific actors. Ben Becker or Matthias Brandt are two other ones I could imagine...

[rubixcub]

It's interesting that Del Toro is one of the few actors from the Bond series to win an Oscar AFTER appearing in a Bond movie.  Given where his career is now compared to when he was just starting out -- plus the fact that he's got 26 more years under his belt, so he looks different -- it would be interesting to see him in a different context as a primary villain within the Bond canon.

 

It's not the first time actors have re-appeared in different roles: Charles Gray, Maud Adams, and Joe Don Baker come to mind, not to mention actors in smaller parts like Shane Rimmer and Kim Fortune.

 

Dave

[Guy Haines]

Benedict Cumberbatch. Obviously he could do it, although if not signed for a Bond movie in the immediate future - not necessarily 25, but the next one or one after that - he could end up like Kevin Spacey or Anthony Hopkins, mentioned in dispatches in the tabloid press as "the next Bond baddie" only to be passed over time and again.

 

(Possibly, undermining my advocacy of him, because he might not want to do it.)

[Odd Jobbies]

Oscar Isaacs is mentioned for just about everything, so why not this?

 

I'd like to see Viggo Mortensen go toe to toe with Craig as his opposite number (a'la Connery and Shaw). I think they're well matched in terms of size, intensity and acting chops.

 

Rutger Hauer guested on the final couple of seasons of True Blood recently showing that he's still got it, despite his age. Love to see him in a Stromberg'esque role.

 

As for Benicio Del Toro - he's one of the best actors out there IMO and i think it's been long enough, and his apperance has certainly changed enough to allow him to return as a lead villain (besides, Eon has form in re-using actors in different roles).

 

 

--btw, off-topic, speaking of Chiwetel Ejiofor (who's praises i've been singing here as villain material for a few years)...

--Wasn't it rumoured that Logan's unwanted script portrayed Blofeld as an African warlord?

--And since Chiwetel Ejiofor was linked to the film back then it makes sense that it was probably for this same role of an African warlord-Blofeld.

--And since we know that Scott is now playing Chiwetel's role isn't there some logic in the argument that Scott is Blofeld in the changed script?

[Vauxhall]

As I understand it...

Spoiler

Ejiofor was offered warlord Blofeld - but when the character was changed, he was then offered the Andrew Scott role, which he turned down.

[Odd Jobbies]

As I understand it...

Spoiler

Ejiofor was offered warlord Blofeld - but when the character was changed, he was then offered the Andrew Scott role, which he turned down.

Which makes sense. Thanks for the info, Vauxhall

[rubixcub]

Finally makes sense, after all these months.  Thanks, Vaux!

 

I guess that

Spoiler

while Scott's character, Denbigh, may or may not be on the side of the angels, he's at least not Numero Uno.  Frankly, this piece of news makes it seems that much more likely that Denbigh is NOT a mole / turncoat.

 

I figure if they ever do make it to an African location, with an African villain -- or at least if they do in the next 1-2 films -- then Ejiofor will probably come up again.

 

Dave

Edited by rubixcub, 28 May 2015 - 08:37 PM.

[Guy Haines]

Not so much a prediction about a future actor as a future type of villain, but.... remember TND and the media mogul bad guy Elliot Carver? Well, at the moment there's a lot in the press about alleged corruption in organised sport, especially football. FIFA, anyone?

 

Might seem a daft idea, not the first I've had here, but how about a villain/organisation who wants pursue various other plans to dominate the world by keeping the population distracted through control of, as the Romans put it, "bread and circuses"? An Elliot Carver type megalomaniac whose goal is not domination by newspaper headlines but by control of social media/sports media/reality TV rubbish. In other words all the stuff which distracts, and stops the rest of us thinking about what's really going on in the world.

 

A sports/media tycoon villain would also allow for Bond to get involved in new or revamped action scenes. Not football I think - I can't see 007 playing centre forward!  - but Formula 1 motor racing perhaps (Ample opportunity for a car v car duel there - it was done in an episode of The Saint, as I recall.) - or golf or horse riding, recalling those scenes from GF and/or AVTAK.

[Call Billy Bob]

Not so much a prediction about a future actor as a future type of villain, but.... remember TND and the media mogul bad guy Elliot Carver? Well, at the moment there's a lot in the press about alleged corruption in organised sport, especially football. FIFA, anyone?
 
Might seem a daft idea, not the first I've had here, but how about a villain/organisation who wants pursue various other plans to dominate the world by keeping the population distracted through control of, as the Romans put it, "bread and circuses"? An Elliot Carver type megalomaniac whose goal is not domination by newspaper headlines but by control of social media/sports media/reality TV rubbish. In other words all the stuff which distracts, and stops the rest of us thinking about what's really going on in the world.
 
A sports/media tycoon villain would also allow for Bond to get involved in new or revamped action scenes. Not football I think - I can't see 007 playing centre forward!  - but Formula 1 motor racing perhaps (Ample opportunity for a car v car duel there - it was done in an episode of The Saint, as I recall.) - or golf or horse riding, recalling those scenes from GF and/or AVTAK.

Roger Goodell for the villain of Bond 25!

[Emrayfo]

Not so much a prediction about a future actor as a future type of villain, but.... remember TND and the media mogul bad guy Elliot Carver? Well, at the moment there's a lot in the press about alleged corruption in organised sport, especially football. FIFA, anyone?

 

Might seem a daft idea, not the first I've had here, but how about a villain/organisation who wants pursue various other plans to dominate the world by keeping the population distracted through control of, as the Romans put it, "bread and circuses"? An Elliot Carver type megalomaniac whose goal is not domination by newspaper headlines but by control of social media/sports media/reality TV rubbish. In other words all the stuff which distracts, and stops the rest of us thinking about what's really going on in the world.

 

A sports/media tycoon villain would also allow for Bond to get involved in new or revamped action scenes. Not football I think - I can't see 007 playing centre forward!  - but Formula 1 motor racing perhaps (Ample opportunity for a car v car duel there - it was done in an episode of The Saint, as I recall.) - or golf or horse riding, recalling those scenes from GF and/or AVTAK.

 

I actually quite like this. I imagine the film after SPECTRE will still focus on that organisation, though.

[Guy Haines]

Re; Bond 25, yes I think the next film will, should focus on SPECTRE as the villains. I can't see the point in reviving that organisation after all these decades, and all those legal battles off screen, just to use it in one movie.

 

But I offered the sports/media tycoon villain idea for future use. The Bond films tend to look at the contemporary wider world for ideas when the Fleming source material dries up and a villain or criminal conspiracy which dominates what I call the "bread and circuses" of the world would have plenty of scope for real trouble by keeping the public distracted or disinterested. I can't comment on the total votes in our recent elections, but in the past the line "more people voted in The X Factor than in the elections" has been quoted, which is a concern if more people vote for their favourite boy band, celebrity or novelty dog act than their next government. A public that doesn't care about what happens to them provided they can still follow vacuous celebrities and wannabees on YouTube or Twitter could allow a corrupt elite to get away with almost anything, if you see where I'm coming from.

 

But this idea is for future reference, if it ever happens. For now lets see what Bond does with SPECTRE as his main opponent.

[Sir Godfrey]

I think Eddie Marsan could be an excellent Bond vilain.

Why not Blofeld ?

[Connerybond]

Viggo Mortensen