Even though No Time To Die offered a fitting end to Daniel Craig’s time in the role, the next James Bond movie should hang on to the open-ended elements of 007’s story instead of starting over anew. The transition from one Bond to another is never easy for the iconic spy cinema franchise. Although the arrival of a new actor tends to mean a tonal shift for the franchise, whether the James Bond movies reboot their canon or recast their supporting figures has depended on each new iteration of the series.
For example, Daniel Craig’s time as 007 saw the series hold on to Judi Dench’s M while replacing John Cleese’s Q with Ben Whishaw’s take on the role. Now that No Time To Die killed off Blofeld and Bond alike, it seems inevitable to some fans that the franchise will need to establish a whole new continuity going forward. However, Bond’s 26th screen outing should instead hold on to some elements that made Craig’s movies work while letting go of others.
It is unclear what the next step is for the James Bond franchise. Now that the much-delayed No Time To Die has finally arrived, the next outing for the iconic character cannot come together until a new James Bond is cast in the role. This has resulted in debates over whether or not the franchise should hold on to the Daniel Craig-era Bond canon now that the actor’s version of 007 is definitively dead. However, the fact that Bond is usually rebooted completely, that the Craig era established a solid supporting cast, and the next movie can still change the tone while holding on to those actors prove that Bond’s 26th movie should keep the elements that made Daniel Craig’s 007 succeed alive.
The James Bond Franchise Has Always Rebooted Itself
Unlike a lot of franchises that have been through numerous creative reshuffles, the James Bond franchise has always been unrepentant about recasting its lead and supporting stars, often without addressing the fact. As a result, there would be nothing innovative or interesting about Bond’s 26th movie ignoring Dnaiel Craig’s movies. If anything, mentioning Daniel Craig’s Bond backstory or other elements of the actor’s depiction of 007 would be a more interesting and daring route for the franchise to take, as this could imply that multiple agents named James Bond exist in the same timeline. The series has always flirted with confirming this idea and a wholesale reboot would render it moot, whereas one that kept some of Craig’s co-stars in place could instead keep these rumors alive (if unconfirmed).
Craig’s Bond Carried Over Brosnan’s Best Element
Judi Dench’s M was a delight that elevated even the worst Brosnan Bond movies and her casting in Daniel Craig’s Bond movies was a clever call that proved the series could keep elements of one 007 actor’s tenure alive into the next actor’s takeover. Similarly, No Time To Die made Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, Ben Whishaw’s Q, and Ana De Armas’ Paloma into fan-favorites and their return would be as welcome as Dench’s comeback was over a decade ago. Keeping Paloma around as a Felix Leiter replacement would delight most fans of Craig’s movies in the role while broadening Bond’s team proved pivotal to the success of No Time To Die. Despite the character typically being a lone wolf, Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie flew in the face of franchise tradition and portrayed 007 as a team player.
This resulted in an adventure with a more complex plot with more moving parts, but also more humor and compelling human drama. Bond finally learned from Tom Cruise’s successful spy franchise Mission Impossible, and the series would lose all of the ground that it gained if it said goodbye to Lynch, Whishaw, and de Armas’ characters for the sake of an umpteenth fresh start. As outlined above, the unique tone of the James Bond movies means that the long-running franchise is one of the only series in cinema history that would not benefit from another complete creative overhaul, having been through so many of them. A riskier proposition would be keeping the supporting players in place while replacing the lead, something that the franchise creators should gamble on in Bond’s 26th movie.
Bond 26 Can Still Reinvent The Franchise
However, just because the next Bond movie should obliquely reference the Craig continuity and keep its supporting cast does not mean it should hold on to everything that recent franchise outings established. Whether it is Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, or Daniel Kaluuya, the next Bond will already be reinventing the franchise simply by being a new face for the iconic character. However, the 26th Bond movie does need to make a point of lightening the tone of proceedings, as even Craig’s most fun movies had a dour element that no longer fits the franchise. Arriving in cinemas a year after the success of Batman Begins, it is no surprise that the Craig movies started as gritty, Bourne-influenced thrillers that were more grounded than ever before. However, it must be noted that Craig’s Bond movies eventually ended up closer to 007’s campy norms, with figures like Rami Malek’s scene-stealing Safin looking like something from a Brosnan movie.
This gradual tonal shift that took place across Craig’s five movies means Bond’s 26th outing can be a more fun, self-aware brand of blockbuster. As such, holding onto supporting stars doesn’t mean the movie’s tone or its content will be dictated by the Craig era. The next Bond movie can gain the sort of self-referential sense of humor that has not only become the norm for most blockbusters but that was pioneered by early Bond movies decades ago. The sequel can, with a new Bond and the same supporting cast, use occasional nods to Daniel Craig’s movie to recapture the long-sought-after balance of thrills, humor, and drama found in the classic From Russia With Love. Still seen as a highlight of the long-running franchise, that early James Bond adventure took inspiration and some characters from previous movies while also telling a satisfying standalone story, exactly like Bond’s first post-No Time To Die outing should.