190 replies to this topic

[Vauxhall]

I don't think so. I think they're more likely to be covering each other. If they were firing at each other, I think the producers wouldn't have released these two photos concurrently. Probably the same location though, i.e. the Whitehall office building.

Since the trailer has been seen I've been thinking maybe Bond breaks out of the interrogation and has a shoot out with Mallory.

Don't think so. The interrogation apparently takes place in the underground bunker, and those photos of Bond and Mallory are from the inquiry room in Whitehall.

[S K Y F A L L]

Oh, well, thanks for informing me though. Sounds like some great scenes atop a great film. I can't believe we finaly get to see the trailer when MIB3 comes out, soon.

[Matt_13]

The poem was hilarious.

[thecasinoroyale]

[TheREAL008]

Mallory = M?

[Pussfeller]

Either that or Moneypenny. At least it's clear now that he's being set up as a major character.

[SecretAgentFan]

Must be Moneypenny then.

[Guy Haines]

The MI6 website mentions not only the new poster but a new plot synopsis which refers to Mallory as the new "Chairman of the Intelligence & Security Committee". To me that sounds like either an internal Whitehall body above M, or a political oversight committee loaded with MPs.

Is the Mallory character a civil servant, or a politician with an agenda? Either way, it doesn't sound like he's the new "M".

But, I may be proved wrong. We have a mere 41 days before we find out.

[Pussfeller]

I don't see why he'd be accorded such prominence in pre-film promotional materials if he weren't going to suceed Dench. All things considered, it seems unlikely that Dench would be released without an actor of Fiennes' calibre being retained as her replacement.

[Shrublands]

Here is the new synopsis in full

In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M (JUDI DENCH) is tested as her past returns to haunt her. 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

When Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong and agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked forcing M to relocate the agency. These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Gareth Mallory (RALPH FIENNES), the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M is left with one ally she can trust: Bond. 007 takes to the shadows – aided only by field agent, Eve (NAOMIE HARRIS) – following a trail to the mysterious Silva (JAVIER BARDEM), whose lethal and hidden motives have yet to reveal themselves.

[Royal Dalton]

He must be an MP. He can't be the new M, then.

[oatesy]

He must be an MP. He can't be the new M, then.

"Intelligence and Security Committee" sounds like the real-life Cabinet Office Joint Intelligence Committee which oversees the SIS (MI6), the Security Service (MI5) and GCHQ. It is chaired by a civil servant rather than an MP, currently Jon Day.

Interestingly the most famous chair recently was Sir John Scarlett, who gained some notoriety during the last Iraq war with the dodgy dossiers. He left the JIC to be the head of MI6 in 2004/5...

Edited by oatesy, 14 September 2012 - 11:57 AM.

[Shrublands]

I’d say a powerful civil servant – what some would call a ‘Whitehall Mandarin’.

[Royal Dalton]

"Intelligence and Security Committee" sounds like the real-life Cabinet Office Joint Intelligence Committee which oversees the SIS (MI6), the Security Service (MI5) and GCHQ. It is chaired by a civil servant rather than an MP, currently Jon Day.

Interestingly the most famous chair recently was Sir John Scarlett, who gained some notoriety during the last Iraq war with the dodgy dossiers. He left the JIC to be the head of MI6 in 2004/5...

Ah, that's right. I stand corrected, Oatesy. Interesting point about Scarlett, too.

[Mr_Wint]

This poster is the very first thing that got me a little bit excited for the film...
I have not been following the spoiler threads, but the filmmakers are truly insane if he turns out to be yet another insider, instead of the new M.

[thecasinoroyale]

If he's an insider I'll walk out - I'm done with all these traitors and moles and insiders - let's just have a clear good guy and bad guy, and the goons inbetween!

I remember reading early on that he is almost like M's boss - so if he WAS the new M, sounds like a demotion to take over the M role itself, unless he ends up doing both roles to get MI6 back on track?

[Royal Dalton]

I remember reading early on that he is almost like M's boss - so if he WAS the new M, sounds like a demotion to take over the M role itself, unless he ends up doing both roles to get MI6 back on track?

I'm sure Oatesy is right that he's another "John Scarlett". But, hopefully, without the dodgy dossiers...

[JCRendle]

So,

Bernard Lee = Sir Miles Messervy = M
Judi Dench =Barbara Mawdsley = M

If Ralph Fiennes becomes M then he will it will add to the rumour that M is just taken from the head of MI6's last name. The only exception to the rule is Robert Brown, who's original character was Vice Admiral Hargreaves in TSWLM. - The only problem is, that as M he is a Rear Admiral - Is he a different character (indeed, is he playing the same M as Lee?) or was it simply a mistake in TLD?

--This post is purely humour, I know M is just a code name like the real MI6's C--

[S K Y F A L L]

Does Judi Dench have a character poster? If not I wonder if we can be expecting one. IMO she should have been on the other side of Ralph.

[PPK_19]

She doesn't currently have one, no.

IMO she should have been on the other side of Ralph.

Not sure that juxtapositon would work entirely, because

Spoiler

It might be giving too much away in terms of who the new M is going to be

[S K Y F A L L]

She doesn't currently have one, no.

IMO she should have been on the other side of Ralph.

Not sure that juxtapositon would work entirely, because

Spoiler

It might be giving too much away in terms of who the new M is going to be

Good point and M would be better in a poster with Q or Tanner.

[Vauxhall]

I imagine that Fiennes has been giving a surname beginning with M largely to add to the inevitable speculation that he'll become the new M. That's not to say that he might not indeed take on that role, but I doubt it's necessarily fully cut and dried.

[MajorB]

I don't see why he'd be accorded such prominence in pre-film promotional materials if he weren't going to suceed Dench. All things considered, it seems unlikely that Dench would be released without an actor of Fiennes' calibre being retained as her replacement.

Also, Fiennes is third-billed ahead of both of the female leads. IIRC, this is the first Bond film in which the heroine wasn't first or second billed. Maybe it's just a contractual star-power-prestige thing, but it does suggest that the character is a pretty damned major one. However, as thecasinoroyale points out, the idea that the overseer of all British intelligence agencies would willingly be "downgraded" to the chief of just one of them seems a little odd. Unless they were to move Bond out of MI6 and have him report directly to Mallory as a secret-agent-at-large (a little like what Gradner did with MicroGlobeOne, or whatever it was called). That would be a significant format change, obviously, but one without many advantages to the series--just swapping one boss and office for another.

So the more I hear about Mallory's part in the film, the less I'm actually buying that he'll be the new M, cool as that would be. But time will tell.

[Pussfeller]

So who will be the new M?

[Vauxhall]

So who will be the new M?

Perhaps it's the bulldog ornament from M's desk.

[Pussfeller]

So you're saying Bond takes his orders from China?

[JCRendle]

So you're saying Bond takes his orders from China?

[Vauxhall]

So you're saying Bond takes his orders from China?

Haha!

[S K Y F A L L]

I would have thought after the character posters and then the Mallory banner we would have gotten one for M or Q...

[Shrublands]

I would have thought after the character posters and then the Mallory banner we would have gotten one for M or Q...

I think we will still get an M banner on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.