Where to go with Bond after this?
GQ has in interesting article about Daniel Craig and his Bond run and the dilemma for the producers moving forward.
Whatever you many think of Craig's Bond, there's no no denying that he has put a very unique spin on Bond. His Bond is the most serious Bond of all -- with the possible exception of Dalton's version.
Craig's Bond is mostly humourless, cynical. Some people like this. Some don't. All other versions of Bond though have been portrayed with varying degrees of camp and comedy.
Craig's Bond has suffered real world damage both physically and emotionally.
We've seen Bond get punched or beat up a few times in other movies, but he always emerges with barely a scratch. (Did Roger Moore's pretty face ever suffer even a minor cut?) Craig's Bond bleeds and screams when he gets roughed up... his knuckles get raw from punching opponents.
Emotionally, we've seen him live with the consequences of a lost love over several movies. (Yes he suffered a loss in OHMSS, but that event and its consequences were promptly ignored in the subsequent movies.)
All of Craig's movies have been connected either directly or indirectly. Craig has been in the role for fourteen years(!) and one of the themes that has run through his films has been his age and his weariness of the spy business.
So the producers and the franchise has a real dilemma right now.
Where do they go from here?
They can't continue the current iteration of Bond. Aside from the fact that it would be jarring to see a new actor carrying on with the same loose story, a younger actor would suddenly undo all that business with Bond getting too old to carry on.
Do they then consider these movies a one-and-done series within the bigger franchise and re-boot the series and story with the next actor? Go back to square one again?
Maybe they do stories that take place between the events of the Craig movies, and just hope we accept the change of actors? Or just revert to the old formula of stand-alone movies that have no connection to each other other than having the same actor?
Personally, I liked that the producers re-invented the character as darker and grittier with a longer multi-movie narrative. But now that's it's over, it's hard to see where they can go with this franchise, and still keep it fresh and popular.
Ideas? Thoughts?