Ben Whishaw believes the James Bond franchise needs to be “completely reinvented” to reflect changes to the modern world.
Ben Whishaw believes the James Bond franchise needs to be “completely reinvented”.
The 46-year-old actor played MI6 gadget whizz Q in the last three movies in the franchise, Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die, but won’t return for the next film, and with Amazon MGM Studios now running the series, Ben thinks they need to reassess what is “relevant” to the modern world.
Asked if he has any advice for the makers of the next film, which will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, he told Sunday Times Culture magazine: “The world has changed so much since the last Bond film so you have to find what is relevant about it. I think it needs to be reinvented completely. But it’s not for me to say.”
Ben insisted he “rarely” thinks about the Bond franchise these days.
He admitted: “I rarely think about Bond. That would be weird.”
But with speculation rife as to who will replace Daniel Craig as the suave spy, he understands why “people go crazy about it”.
He said: “It’s all deliberate hype. When you are working on it it’s incredibly secretive, almost like being a spy – you only get the pages of the script that you are in. It’s a ploy to create suspense and glamour, but it’s kind of fun.”
It was recently claimed producers have narrowed down the search for a new Bond to three actors, after considering the likes of Jack Barton, Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Harris Dickinson for the role.
Reports last month suggested the list has been narrowed to three candidates – Slow Horses star Lowden, Jacob Elordi and one unnamed actor.
The shortlist was reported by Jeff Sneider at The InSneider, as well as World Of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy, who wrote: “A few weeks ago, I was told that the race to become the next James Bond had narrowed to three names: Jacob Elordi, Jack Lowden and an undisclosed third actor.
“I couldn’t publish it then. Now that Jeff Sneider at The InSneider is also reporting Lowden and Elordi as finalists, the cat’s out of the bag, so here we are.
“What I’m hearing is that an announcement could come anytime between the last week of October and early November. That’s soon.”
Ruimy suggests Elordi is Amazon’s favourite while Lowden is the more traditional choice for the role, however, the new film’s director Villeneuve may be backing the unnamed third actor as his “wild card”.
The insider added: “Elordi is fresh-ish, but he’s not British and he’s not unknown. Lowden is British but will be pushing 37 when cameras roll.
“And then there’s that third name, the mystery actor, who I’m told has barely been speculated about and who could be Villeneuve’s wild card if he decides to go against the grain.”
Ben Whishaw calls for James Bond to be ‘completely reinvented’
