Barbara Broccoli Speaks on Next Actor and Director for Bond 26

As the press circuit continues for the newly released Amazon Prime Video series 007: Road to a Million, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli opened up about her expectations for the future actor and director.

Bond 26 is still years away so the next Bond has yet to be chosen, but Broccoli did reveal what she wanted in terms of talent and drive. More specifically: “[Michael G. Wilson and I are] totally open to casting a non-star, but acting is a very specialized profession, and if somebody has to carry a movie and have the range of requirements [for Bond] in terms of physicality, it's not going to be someone who has never done it before. It would be sort of irresponsible to do that. But we'd certainly be open to a non-star.”

In other words, the producers want an actor who has already proven they have the capacity for what it takes, regardless of whether they’ve established themselves as a star yet. Playing the role of James Bond is after all a mentally and physically draining commitment and the producers are keen for the next actor to stay for at least a decade.

Her statement isn’t surprising however. It’s actually in-line with how the producers have previously chosen Bond actors who weren’t the biggest names at the time. Audiences were for instance relatively unfamiliar with Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton before they became James Bond. Even Sir Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan were mainly known for their TV appearances. Daniel Craig was considered a “non-star” as he’d mostly played supporting roles.

Regarding these former alumni, Broccoli was adamant that they’d never use AI technology to replicate the likeness of (deceased) Bond actors. “I think that those actors made such enormous contributions to the films, I would not want to disrespect them by having them do things that they did not create.”

Broccoli then went on to say that for the next director they’re staying open-minded but that the decision is a while away. When asked about Christopher Nolan she said: “I'm a big fan… I know him and his wife [producer Emma Thomas] socially, and we've had lots of discussions about movies and Bond in general. He's phenomenal — I loved Oppenheimer. He's a great director.”

It’s worth noting that in this quote Broccoli never specifically mentions Bond 26 as a point of discussion. Although even if they didn’t have a chat about the next Bond film it’s no secret that Nolan is the favourite to direct. Most recently in September he was rumoured to be helming several period piece Bond films.

Finally while talking about 007: Road to a Million, Broccoli mentioned their intention to keep creating more seasons of the show but not expand beyond what it currently is. The series should therefore be treated as a one-off with no other Bond-related shows on television or streaming.

The new show is narrated by a figure called ‘The Controller’ played by Succession actor Brian Cox. In an appearance on the The Tonight Show, Cox claimed that he believed his wish to play in a James Bond film had finally come true. On this Broccoli said: “I'm not quite sure if that's true. I think he was joking a little bit. [But] I hope we'll get a chance to work with him again…”

All 8 episodes of 007: Road to a Million are now available to stream on Prime Video.

Source: Yahoo Entertainment