Owen. Jackman. Bana. Scott?
British actor Dougray Scott has reportedly beaten off competition from actors, Eric Bana, Ioan Gruffud and Clive Owen to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. The To Kill A King hunk, 38, clinched the role after discussions with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and will be the seventh actor to appear as the sexy British agent. He will make his first appearance in the 23rd Bond movie after Eon Productions decided they wanted to return to a more brooding Bond in the mould of fellow Scot Sean Connery, reports British newspaper the Sunday Mirror. A movie insider says, "Producers have been eager to take Bond back to the broody and sexy figure that Sean was so brilliant at. Obviously it's not possible for Sean to return at his age, so they have been looking for a younger actor with similar characteristics. Since then Barbara and Dougray have been in talks - and she believes he will be the perfect new 007 for the 21st Century." Brosnan announced two months ago that he would not be starring as Bond again, saying, "That's it. I've said all I've got to say on the world of James Bond."
I made the mistake of talking about future Bond casting early on, so now I feel sort of obliged to keep it up. Frankly, until someone signs a contract and shooting begins, I'm not inclined to believe any of these rumors.
Besides, didn't Brosnan reportedly leave (if, in fact, he has) because Eon wasn't planning on returning to the brooding, Connery-era persona? Isn't that what Eon and UA tried to do with Timothy Dalton? Is Bond even that viable of a franchise anymore?
I think it's time to provide a little left field speculation about who should be the next James Bond. Why limit ourselves to British citizenry, a Y chromosome, or Anglo ancestry?
And I'll state out front that I already saw my personal favorite, Mr. T, mentioned elsewhere. That's the only reason he's not included on my list.
Bruce Campbell - Every fanboy's dream casting choice for every role ever proposed, from Superman to the Lizard. Could a 12 gauge, double-barreled Remington replace the Walther PPK?
Keira Knightley - Sure, Angelina Jolie can fake a British accent, but Knightley's the real deal. Nothing wrong with some young blood wearing an evening gown in lieu of the traditional tuxedo, but are fans ready for "Bond guys?"
John Cusack - He smokes enough to be "classic" Bond, that's for sure.
Lindsay Lohan - Talk about your franchise potential. Bond has suffered lately from being too stodgy for the "tween" crowd, but no longer. Plus, I've determined that nothing helps the traffic rankings like dropping Lohan's name every so often.
Rowan Atkinson - Yeah, that worked really well.
Chow Yun-Fat - It's high time Bond used more than one gun at a time. Chow could play a secret agent recruited from Hong Kong by MI6, and with renewed focus on Asian settings, could a reunion with Sheriff J.W. Pepper be in the offing?
Marilyn Manson - Why not? He's been acting like a musician for years.
Angela Bassett - She kicks ass, can act, and is hot, hot, hot. Sure, traditionalists will bitch about the complete inversion of Bond history, but they ran out of Ian Fleming material years ago. As long as Eon is treating the Raymond Benson collection as canon, they might as well spice things up.
Strong Bad - Debonair. Technologically savvy. Mysterious. I think we have a winner.
For a real spring cleaning, the next Bond should be Alexei Sayle. Previous Bond actors' nationalities have blanketed the British Empire, so you might as well get a Liverpudlian with an anarchist streak and dialogue so coarse that every other word can't be printed here, and the remaining words are all 'fuck'.
Lo Pan!
Think of the possibilities!
I'd vote for The Rock. Its about time that Bond actually looked like he could kick ass, rather than having to be so darn crafty and gadget-reliant