May I have your attention, please. I have a proposition for you.
It has been four years since we had an installment of the James Bond franchise. And not only that, good people. Since the contradictory ending of No Time To Die, the fifth chapter in Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the character, we have been waiting not only for another Bond film, but another Bond actor. Who would be picked to play 007? We had wondered if we might finally have a nonwhite Bond, this time. Maybe there’d even be a lady Bond.
We hoped it might be Idris Elba, but our hopes were dashed. We thought it might be Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but no cigar. We are waiting. We are weary. We would like a new 007.
We’re being teased about this, too! Bond is in the news, just not in the announcements we want the most! Remember that random Bond tribute at the Oscars?
Fortunately for you all, I have a plan. Readers, writers, Broccoli heirs, and Amazon Studios executives… please hear me out.
What about… Josh Bowman?
Joshua Bowman, the charming English actor who played Krasko on Doctor Who, and Daniel Grayson on ABC’s Revenge?
Think about it. He’s the right age (37). He’s fit (he was briefly a professional rugby player). He’s suave (Google any interview). He’s ENGLISH (born in Berkshire). He’s 6′ 0 and so is Bond, in the books. In the novel Casino Royale, he’s described as having dark hair. That’s not as important, but it works!
But more than that, though, he’s a compelling, engaging actor. I have been waiting quite a while for his career to blow up, and I think this is the perfect situation for that.
Here he is. This photo is from a Just Jared photoshoot from 2012, but you can see what I mean. God, I feel so correct about this instinct, that I should change my name from “Dr. Rutigliano” to “Dr. Yes.”
Credit: Mitchell Nguyen McCormack/Da Man; Photos: FameFlynet Pictures, Just Jared 2012
The individuals I refer to as the James Bond Selection Committee chose Daniel Craig last time; a well-respected actor of stage and screen, known mostly for supporting roles. The point of Bond casting is not to choose someone so closely associated with another leading man role that it becomes distracting; the actor must fully embody Bond. Bowman’s resume, while impressive, is waiting for one such role, just as was the case for Craig.
I have another idea. I’ve heard others say this too, and I know it breaks the Bond rules somewhat, but how cool it would be for a Bond movie to be set in the 1950s, pre-Connery? A true Cold War Bond? That would be a charming homage to Fleming’s books, since we’ve gone pretty far afield from them since Casino Royale in 2006. It could be an origination story of the character, rather like how Craig’s era rebooted the franchise with Casino Royale and used the Vesper Lynd love story as a consistent anchor for Bond’s choices, across multiple films. This could do something like that, with a nostalgic temporal re-contextualization that could stand out in a franchise that has historically insisted on contemporaneity.
Anyway, this is my suggestion. The time has come to select a new Bond. The people are restless. The world is ready.
I also have some ideas about the rest of the cast, but I won’t overwhelm you with that now.
